US President Donald Trump has placed the blame on Ukraine for the ongoing war with Russia, which is nearing its third anniversary. He stressed that Ukraine "could have made a deal" and avoided the devastating consequences of war.

Advertisment

Trump, during a press briefing at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, emphasised that Ukraine should have negotiated a deal before the conflict escalated in 2022.

Trump's remarks came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, on Tuesday (Feb 18), held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials, that primarily focused on a broad range of issues, including the situation in Ukraine.

Both sides expressed a commitment to resolving the conflict and addressing the root causes that led to the war.

Advertisment

Rubio said that after an intense, four-hour meeting in Saudi Arabia, the United States and Russia agreed on four crucial principles, including the establishment of a high-level team to "negotiate and work through the end of the conflict in Ukraine" in a way that's "acceptable to all the parties engaged," according to CNN reports.

Also read: Trump defends $21 million DOGE cut; 'Have lot of respect for India, but...'

However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv would not "give in to Russia's ultimatums" and highlighted that he would refuse to sign any agreement made without Ukraine's participation.

Advertisment

To this, Trump said, “Today I heard, ‘Oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you been there for three years. You should have ended it three years…You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”

'Russia wants to stop barbarianism, senseless war', says Trump

Trump sided with Russia and said that Moscow was willing to end the war in Ukraine, following talks between the two nations. 

Condemning the war as "senseless", Trump stressed that it was a preventable conflict. 

"Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the barbarianism that's going on over there. Soldiers are being killed by thousands on a weekly basis. Apart from Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, a lot of Koreans have been killed," the US president said while signing executive orders at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday (local time).

"We want to end it. It's a senseless war. It should have never happened; it would have never happened if I were President," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)