Sawt Falasteen - Trump says Russia-Ukraine deal 'very close' after new Kremlin talks

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again rejected suggestions that Ukraine give up Crimea, and the talks between Putin and US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff came just after a top Russian general was killed in a car bomb attack outside Moscow.

Arriving in Rome late Friday to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, Trump said it had been "a good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine.

"They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to 'finish it off'," he posted on his Truth Social platform.

"Most of the major points are agreed to," he said.

Trump, who has threatened to walk away from peace efforts if he does not see progress towards a ceasefire, gave no other details.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov however said Witkoff and Putin had a "constructive" conversation, including "a discussion on the possibility of renewing direct negotiations" between Kyiv and Moscow.

Ushakov said the meeting had brought the US and Russian positions on Ukraine "closer together".

Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks on the conflict that has left tens of thousand dead since Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022.

- Crimea claims -

Lower-level officials have however cooperated on prisoner exchanges, the return of killed soldiers' remains and the Black Sea grain export deal that Moscow later scrapped.

Trump said while campaigning for the US presidency that he would end the conflict within a day of taking office. He has however since clashed with Zelensky and expressed frustration over Putin's actions.

Putin last month rebuffed a US proposal for an unconditional ceasefire that Zelensky both accepted and has repeatedly called for since.

On Thursday, after Russia launched its deadliest strike on Kyiv in months, Trump wrote on social media: "Vladimir, STOP!", adding "Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!"

When asked how he would respond if Russia did not accept a deal, Trump said: "I won't be happy, let me put it that way. Things will happen."

Ukraine and its European allies are wary of any deal that could be struck between Moscow and Washington.

As Witkoff visited Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told US broadcaster CBS that Moscow was "ready to reach a deal", but that unnamed details needed to be addressed.

- General killed -

The United States has not revealed details of its peace plan, but has suggested freezing the front line and accepting Russian control of Crimea in exchange for peace.

Trump was quoted as saying in a TIME magazine interview released Friday that "Crimea will stay with Russia. And Zelensky understands that."

With Ukraine fearful Trump could force it to cede Crimea -- a strategic Black Sea peninsula seized by Russia in 2014 -- Zelensky insisted the territory is "the property of the Ukrainian people".

"Our position is unchanged," he told reporters in Kyiv. "The constitution of Ukraine says that all the temporarily occupied territories... belong to Ukraine."

Zelensky has however conceded that Ukraine might have to try to return of some land captured by Russia through diplomacy once a ceasefire is in place.

"I agree with President Trump that Ukraine does not have enough weapons to regain control of the Crimean peninsula with weapons," he said Friday.

Zelensky cited the Russian strike on Kyiv strike, which left at least 12 dead, as one of the reasons he might miss Pope Francis's funeral Saturday.

He could potentially have met Trump for the first time since their explosive White House confrontation in February.

Just before Witkoff met Putin, Russia reported that General Yaroslav Moskalik, one of the deputy heads of the general staff, was killed by a bomb in a parked car just outside Moscow.

"There are reasons to believe that Ukraine's special services were involved in the murder," Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement. Ukraine did not immediately comment.

N.Shalabi--SF-PST