Trump says he and putin can do something "significant" to end russia's war in Ukraine – media

U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration has had "very serious" discussions with russia about its war in Ukraine and that he and vladimir putin could soon take "significant" steps to end the ongoing conflict, the Associated Press reported.

"We will be speaking, and I think will perhaps do something that’ll be significant," Trump said during a briefing with reporters in the Oval Office.

"We want to end that war. That war would have not started if I was president," he reiterated.

Trump did not say who in his administration had contacted the russians, but insisted that the two sides were "already talking."

Asked whether he had spoken directly to putin, Trump responded with a reserved, "I don't want to say that."

According to the AP, Trump has repeatedly stated that he would not have allowed the conflict to begin if he were president, even though he was president as fighting grew in the east of Ukraine between Kyiv's forces and separatists backed by moscow, ahead of putin sending in tens of thousands of troops in 2022.