Trump says he wants Zelensky to 'make a deal' with Russia

WASHINGTON, Oct 21:  US President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Volodymyr Zelensky to make a deal with Russia -- redoubling pressure on the Ukrainian leader even as Moscow grinds on with the war it launched four years ago.

Trump also said he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to release Stephen Hubbard -- an American taken captive by Moscow's forces years earlier in Ukraine -- in a fresh sign of his pivot back to Moscow.

"We want Zelensky to make a deal. He can make a deal. He could have made a deal two years ago when we had our little chat in the Oval Office," Trump told reporters in the same room.

Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelensky had a bruising televised confrontation in the Oval Office in February 2025, shortly after the Ukraine-skeptic US president returned to office.�" AFP