Donald Trump admitted that Ukraine will need to hand over more land to Russia if they want to reach a deal to end the war.

The president said that European leaders can ‘play cute,’ but claimed they know that land will need to be involved in any peace negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He also divulged that after his meeting with European counterparts at the White House on Monday he called President Putin to discuss setting up a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, which he would not attend. 

Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt asked Trump if any land swaps were discussed during his summit.

‘Everybody can play cute and this and that, but, you know, Ukraine is going to get their life back, they’re going to stop having people killed all over the place and they’re going to get a lot of land,’ he said.

‘This is a war, and Russia is a powerful military nation, whether people like it or not,’ Trump added. ‘It’s a powerful nation. It’s a much bigger nation.’

Trump told the Fox morning show that it ‘takes two to tango’ and that Putin and Zelensky need to have a working relationship outside of U.S. intervention.

‘I just want to end it,’ Trump said of the ongoing war.

He also admitted that ‘it’s possible’ that Putin ‘doesn’t want to make a deal.’ 

On his call with Putin – following their summit in Alaska on Friday – Trump said he told Putin that if he has a successful meeting with Zelensky then he would reenter talks to help bring an end to the deadly war.

‘We had a very good call and I told him that we’re going to set up a meeting with President Zelensky,’ Trump said. ‘And then after that meeting if everything works out OK I’ll meet and we’ll wrap it up.’

The president said that Putin and Zelensky are ‘getting along a little better than I thought.’

‘I think they’re doing OK. I wouldn’t say they are ever going to be best friends,’ he added.

Trump invited European leaders, including Zelensky, to the White House on Monday following his bilateral meeting with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska last week.

Friday was the first time the Russian leader was invited back onto U.S. soil after he was in New York City in September 2015 where he met with then-President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

The president discussed on Monday the path forward in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, which he now says will need to include Kyiv conceding more land to Moscow.

He agreed to help facilitate a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky, and said he would rejoin talks once they successfully opened a dialogue.