Russia, Ukraine war: Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin will face ‘rough situation’ if no peace deal is made

US President Donald Trump says he hopes Russian President Vladimir Putin will move forward on ending the war in Ukraine but concedes that the Kremlin leader may not want to make a deal at all, adding this would create a “rough situation” for Mr Putin.

In an interview with Fox News, Mr Trump said he expected that Mr Putin’s course of action would become clear in the next couple of weeks.

Mr Trump also again ruled out US boots on the ground in Ukraine and gave no specifics about the security guarantees he has previously said his country could offer Ukraine under any post-war settlement.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a problem (reaching a peace deal), to be honest with you. I think Putin is tired of it. I think they’re all tired of it but you never know,” Mr Trump said.

“We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks ... It’s possible that he doesn’t want to make a deal,” said Mr Trump, who has previously threatened more sanctions on Russia and countries that buy its oil if Putin does not make peace.

Ukraine and its European allies have been buoyed by Mr Trump’s promise of security guarantees to help end the war during an extraordinary summit on Monday but face many unanswered questions, including how willing Russia will be to play ball.

Russia said it had returned 7000 bodies before the latest handover, while claiming Ukraine has transferred fewer than 100 in total.

The Kremlin portrays this as proof that Ukraine has suffered far higher battlefield losses.

Ukraine, meanwhile, noted that among the 1000 bodies returned were five soldiers who had died while being held in Russian captivity.

According to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, those men should have been released earlier under an Istanbul agreement on exchanging severely wounded soldiers.

Ukraine’s allies held talks in the so-called “coalition of the willing” format on Tuesday, discussing additional sanctions to crank up the pressure on Russia.

The grouping has also agreed that planning teams will meet US counterparts in the coming days to advance plans for security guarantees for Ukraine.

NATO military leaders are expected to meet on Wednesday to discuss Ukraine, with US General Dan Caine expected to attend the meeting virtually, officials told Reuters.

Russia has made no explicit commitment to a meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia did not reject any formats for discussing the peace process in Ukraine but any meeting of leaders “must be prepared with utmost thoroughness”.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said on Tuesday his country was prepared to host talks on Ukraine that involve the participation of Putin, despite the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have both suggested Geneva as a possible venue for talks involving Putin and Mr Zelensky.

Politico reported on Tuesday that the White House was considering the Hungarian capital of Budapest as a possible meeting site.

with DPA