(MENAFN) U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested that Ukraine should halt hostilities with Russia and use the existing battle lines as the foundation for future peace talks, effectively calling for an end to active fighting.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday upon returning to Washington, Trump described his recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “cordial” and dismissed claims that he had encouraged Kyiv to surrender the entire Donbas region to Moscow. “No, we never discussed it,” he said. “What they should do is just stop at the lines where they are — the battle lines.”

Trump went on to note that in the Donbas area, “78% of the land is already taken by Russia,” adding that Ukraine could “negotiate something later on down the line,” but that the immediate focus should be on ending the conflict.

The Donbas region, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk, has been at the heart of the confrontation since 2014, when Russian-backed separatists declared independence following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Moscow’s forces later expanded control over most of the region after launching a “special operation” in February 2022.

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