Want to meet Putin as soon as we can set it up: Trump

Speaking at the end of his West Asia tour, Trump underscored that current diplomatic efforts will likely stall unless he and Putin engage directly.

His remarks came just ahead of a scheduled meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey--the first in-person talks since the early stages of the conflict. Despite the significance of the event, the United States has downplayed the possibility of any real breakthrough, and Trump expressed similar doubts.

"Nothing" is going to happen on Ukraine until he and Putin meet, he said, positioning their meeting as a turning point in the stalled peace process, reported CNN.

"I think it's time for us to just do it. I said, you know, they all said Putin was going and Zelenskyy was going. And I said, If I don't go, I guarantee Putin is not going, and he didn't go. I understand that - but we're going to get it - we're going to get it done. We're going to get it done. 5,000 young people are being killed every single week on average, and we're going to get it done," Trump said, citing the human cost of the war.

When asked when the meeting could take place, Trump replied, "As soon as we can set it up. I was going to - I would actually leave here and go. I do want to see my beautiful grandson, and we'll be doing that." His daughter Tiffany Trump gave birth on Thursday, marking his 11th grandchild, CNN reported.

Trump also weighed in on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's absence from Thursday's talks. "He didn't show up because he heard Putin wasn't going," he said.

Trump added, "He wasn't going if I wasn't there and I don't believe anything's going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together."