President Donald Trump on Friday called for Ukraine and Russia to meet for 맥스카지노�very high level talks,맥스카지노� saying they are 맥스카지노�very close to a deal맥스카지노� on ending the bloody three-year war.Trump posted on his Truth Social site shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis맥스카지노� funeral that it was a 맥스카지노�good day맥스카지노� of talks and meetings between the two sides. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, had made a visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday,맥스카지노�They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to 맥스카지노�finish it off,맥스카지노�맥스카지노� Trump wrote. 맥스카지노�Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!맥스카지노�Trump's announcement followed him saying in an interview published Friday that 맥스카지노�Crimea will stay with Russia," the latest example of how he has been pressuring Ukraine to make concessions to end the war while the country remains under siege.He also earlier demanded on social media that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 맥스카지노�IMMEDIATELY맥스카지노� sign a long-delayed agreement giving the United States access to his nation's mineral resources.Progress on ending the war has seemed elusive in the months since Trump returned to the White House, and his previous claims of imminent breakthroughs have failed to come to fruition. Russia continued its bombardment of Ukraine on Friday, killing three people with a drone strike on an apartment building in a southeastern city.Despite a rare admonishment of Putin this week, Trump's focus has largely been on urging Zelenskyy to cut a deal that would involve ceding territory to Ukraine's invader. In an interview with Time magazine, Trump described Crimea as a place where Russia has 맥스카지노�had their submarines맥스카지노� and 맥스카지노�the people speak largely Russian.맥스카지노�맥스카지노�Crimea will stay with Russia,맥스카지노� Trump said. 맥스카지노�And Zelensky understands that, and everybody understands that it맥스카지노�s been with them for a long time. It맥스카지노�s been with them long before Trump came along.맥스카지노�When asked by reporters, Zelenskyy said he didn't want to comment on Trump's statement but repeated, as he has many times during the war, that recognizing occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line for his country.Crimea is a strategic peninsula along the Black Sea in southern Ukraine. It was seized by Russia in 2014, while President Barack Obama was in office, years before Russia맥스카지노�s full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022.Disagreements over next stepsTrump has been accusing Zelenskyy of prolonging the war by resisting negotiations with Putin. Western European leaders, however, have accused Putin of dragging his feet in the negotiations and seeking to grab more Ukrainian land while his army has battlefield momentum.The war could be approaching a pivotal moment as the Trump administration weighs its options. Senior U.S. officials had warned that the administration could soon give up attempts to stop the war if the two sides did not come to a settlement. That could potentially mean a halt of crucial U.S. military aid for Ukraine.Speaking to reporters Friday as he left the White House to attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, Trump said there was no deadline for the conclusion of peace talks.맥스카지노�I just want to do it as fast as possible,맥스카지노� Trump said. Negotiators are 맥스카지노�pretty close맥스카지노� to a deal, he said.He promised to meet with foreign leaders while in Rome, and said it was 맥스카지노�possible맥스카지노� he could meet with Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy said late Friday, however, that he was not sure he would make it to Rome in time for the funeral.Witkoff's meeting with Putin on Friday was their second meeting this month and the fourth since February. Witkoff's trip coincided with the death of a senior Russian military officer in a car bomb near Moscow.The Kremlin released a short video of Putin and Witkoff greeting each other. 맥스카지노�How are you, Mr. President?맥스카지노� Witkoff could be heard saying. 맥스카지노�Fine, just fine, thank you,맥스카지노� Putin responded in rare remarks in English, as the two shook hands.Putin맥스카지노�s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, who attended the talks, said the meeting lasted three hours and was 맥스카지노�constructive맥스카지노� and 맥스카지노�useful.맥스카지노� Further talks are expected, he said.Putin and Witkoff discussed, 맥스카지노�in particular, the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine,맥스카지노� according to Ushakov. Delegations from the two countries last met in the weeks following Russia's February 2022 invasion of its neighbor.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with CBS맥스카지노� 맥스카지노�Face the Nation맥스카지노� that he agreed with Trump맥스카지노�s opinion that negotiations 맥스카지노�are moving in the right direction.맥스카지노�Russia, he said before Trump's post late Friday, is 맥스카지노�ready to reach a deal, but there are still some specific points 맥스카지노� elements of this deal which need to be fine-tuned.맥스카지노� He declined to provide further details, according to excerpts of the interview that will air Sunday.Russia's attacks claim more livesMeanwhile, Russia has continued its bombardment of Ukraine. A drone struck an apartment building in a southeastern Ukraine city, killing three people and injuring 10 others, officials said Friday, a day after Trump rebuked Putin for a major missile and drone attack on Kyiv that killed 12 people and injured 87.A child and a 76-year-old woman were among the civilians killed in the nighttime drone strike in Pavlohrad, in Ukraine맥스카지노�s Dnipropetrovsk region, the head of the regional administration, Serhii Lysak, wrote on Telegram.Russian forces fired 103 Shahed and decoy drones at five Ukrainian regions overnight, Ukraine맥스카지노�s air force reported. Authorities in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions reported damage to civilian infrastructure but no casualties.Russian forces used Thursday's attack on Kyiv as cover to launch almost 150 assaults on Ukrainian positions along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, Zelenskyy said late Thursday.맥스카지노�When the maximum of our forces was focused on defense against missiles and drones, the Russians went on to significantly intensify their ground attacks,맥스카지노� he wrote on Telegram.Zelenskyy noted Thursday that Ukraine agreed to a U.S. ceasefire proposal 44 days ago, as a first step to a negotiated peace, but that Russian attacks continued.During recent talks, Russia hit the city of Sumy, killing more than 30 civilians gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday, battered Odesa with drones and blasted Zaporizhzhia with powerful glide bombs.___Megerian reported from Washington and Novikov reported from Kyiv, Ukraine.