Trump denies that he allegedly persuaded Zelenskiy to give all of Donbas to Putin

U.S. President Donald Trump denies the Financial Times report that during a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy he allegedly urged him to give up Donbas to Russia in full. Trump said this in a comment to journalists on board his plane, reports White House Rapid Response Team.

"No, we haven't discussed that with anybody. We think they should just stay on the lines where they are now – on the front lines," Trump said.

He believes that both sides should "go home, stop fighting and stop killing people.".

The US President was also asked what he thinks will happen to Donbas.

"Let everything be divided as it is. Now it [Donbas] is already divided. I think Russia already controls 78% of the territory. Leave it as it is now. They can agree on something later," Trump said .

A Reuters source with knowledge of the talks says Trump took this position after Zelenskiy told him he would not voluntarily cede any territory to Moscow.

• On the evening of October 16, Trump had a telephone conversation with Putin. They discussed Russia's war against Ukraine and agreed that would meet within two weeks in Budapest.
• According to WP, during the phone call with Trump, it was Putin who voiced the demand that Ukraine completely give up control over the Donetsk region. Only under this condition is he allegedly ready to end the war.