US President Donald Trump said in an interview with American journalist Mark Levin that the planet is no longer heading towards World War III.
Speaking about the conflict in Ukraine, he noted that under the administration of former US President Joe Biden, the situation had only worsened. “I think it was heading towards World War III, but now it's not going to happen anymore. That's the good news. You don't have to worry about it anymore,“ he said.
“We'll see how the process of resolving the Ukrainian crisis develops. But it was heading towards World War III. This is the worst thing that has ever happened in terms of military conflicts. "These are the highest casualty figures we've seen since World War II," Trump added.
He said a bilateral meeting between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky was in the planning stages.
The White House chief of staff said he had had successful meetings with both Putin and Zelensky. "I think it would be better if they met without me. I want to see what comes out of it," Trump said. "They are in the process of developing a possible meeting, we will see what happens," the American leader added.
He expressed optimism about resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
"It is worth being a little optimistic," he said in response to a relevant question.
And he stressed that resolving the Ukrainian crisis turned out to be more difficult than he expected.
During a phone call on Monday with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, US President Donald Trump discussed the reasons for Budapest's reluctance to accept Ukraine into the European Union, Bloomberg reported, citing its sources.
The phone call between Trump and Orban took place after the head of the US administration met with the leaders of several European countries at the White House. During discussions in Washington, the agency said, EU officials asked Trump to use his influence over the Hungarian leader to change Budapest's policy on the issue.
The Hungarian government has repeatedly stated that attempts to admit Ukraine into the EU and NATO would lead to a direct armed conflict between Europe and Russia and, in fact, would provoke a third world war.