US President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal” that would end their three-year war, after his envoy met with President Vladimir Putin on Friday in talks Moscow said were “constructive and very useful.

President Donald Trump on Friday called for Ukraine and Russia to meet for "very high-level talks", saying they are "very close to a deal" on ending the bloody three-year war.

President Donald Trump said in an interview published Friday that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” the latest example of the U.S. leader pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to end the war while it remains under siege.