President Donald Trump said on Saturday that efforts to stop further escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war are "somewhat under control."
"Rational discussions" and having good relationships with presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine are key to negotiating an end to the war, Trump told Clay Travis, the founder of sports website Outkick, during an interview on Air Force One.
Bloomberg reported Sunday that the US is working towards an Easter ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. That's despite another night of intense drone strikes that killed at least 7 civilians in Kyiv.
The White House wants to secure a truce by Easter Sunday, which falls on April 20 in both the Western and Orthodox churches, officials told Bloomberg.
Trump said he believed he was the only person who could end the war in Ukraine.
"I don't think there's anybody in the world that is going to stop [Russian President Vladimir Putin], except me," Trump said in the interview. "And I think I'm going to be able to stop him.
"We've had some very rational discussions, and I just want to see the people stop getting killed," Trump said.
Trump had separate discussions with Putin and Zelenskyy last week aimed at ending the war that began when Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Russia's smaller neighbor in 2022.
The talks, which fell short of Trump's aim to secure a full 30-day ceasefire, resulted in Putin agreeing to stop Russian attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days and Zelenskiy saying he would also accept such a pause.
The Kremlin said that a phone call between Putin and Trump was "a step towards a face-to-face meeting," adding that Russia-U.S. talks in Riyadh scheduled for Monday would also be such a step, Interfax news agency reported.
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