Negotiations with Kiev have been "more difficult," the US president has said

US President Donald Trump has said that he finds it easier to deal with Russia than Ukraine as he hopes to broker a ceasefire between the two countries. The president previously berated Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in the Oval Office. 

During a chat with the press on Friday, a reporter mentioned recent Russian strikes in Ukraine and asked Trump, "Do you still believe [President Vladimir Putin] when he tells you that he wants peace?"

"I believe him. I think we're going very well with Russia," the president replied.

"I'm finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine. And they don't have the cards," Trump added. "In terms of getting a final settlement, it may be easier dealing with Russia, which is surprising because they have all the cards," he said.

Trump earlier wrote on his Truth Social platform that he was "strongly considering" slapping additional sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire and "final settlement agreement on peace" is reached. 

"To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late," he wrote.

Earlier this week, Trump paused all weapons deliveries and restricted intelligence sharing with Kiev. The move followed a public spat between Trump and Vladimir Zelensky in the White House, which highlighted persistent disagreements over ceasefire terms and security guarantees.

Trump has so far rejected Zelensky's calls to provide specific guarantees to Ukraine and ruled out NATO membership for the country. He also refused to commit American troops to a potential peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.

After a highly contentious meeting on February 28, Trump accused Zelensky of being "disrespectful" and sabotaging his effort to end the conflict. On Tuesday, the president said that Zelensky had written him a letter expressing readiness "to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer."

America and Ukrainian negotiators are set to meet in Saudi Arabia early next week. Last month, the US held bilateral talks with Russia in Riyadh and Istanbul, which were the first high-level bilateral meetings since the Biden administration froze relations with Moscow in 2022 as part of its campaign of diplomatic isolation.

On Tuesday, Zelensky proposed a partial truce and a prisoner swap as a first phase of negotiations. A similar proposal was later put forward by France.

Russia has long insisted that Ukraine and the West must address the root causes of the conflict, including Moscow's concerns over the expansion of NATO. Russia is demanding that Ukraine drop its aspirations to join the US-led military alliance and become a neutral state. Moscow is also demanding that Ukraine renounce its claims on Crimea and four other regions that have voted to become part of Russia.