US President Donald Trump said he wants his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to "stop shooting" in the war in Ukraine and sign a peace agreement.  Trump added that he believes his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to give up Crimea.

"Oh, I think so," Trump said in response to a question about whether he thought Zelensky was ready to "give up" the territory Russia occupied in 2014.

The Republican's words came a day after he spoke one-on-one with Zelensky at Pope Francis' funeral. 

Trump said he considered his Ukrainian counterpart "more relaxed" and more interested in reaching a peace agreement after their meeting at the Vatican.

The US leader called the meeting "wonderful" and said Zelensky had asked for more weapons during the 15-minute session.

Trump continued to express his disappointment with Vladimir Putin over the missile attack on Kiev and said he could not say for sure whether the Russian leader was serious about ending the war. 

"I think the meeting (with Zelensky) went well. We will see what happens in the next few days. We will probably learn a lot of things. I was very disappointed that the missiles were flying from Russia," the Republican said on his way out of New Jersey, where he spent part of the weekend at his golf club.

He said he and the Ukrainian leader briefly discussed the issue of Crimea, which the U.S. would recognize as Russian under an American peace offer that Zelensky has rejected, during their meeting at St. Peter's.

Trump denies his relationship with his Ukrainian counterpart was bad, saying instead that their televised dispute in February was only a minor setback.

"I see him more relaxed. I think he understands the picture. And I think he wants to make a deal," Trump said. 

He said Putin should demonstrate a commitment to ending the war.

"I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal," the US president said. "I believe we have the limits of a deal and I want him to sign it, get it over with and just get back to life." | BGNES