US President Donald Trump said it is madness that the conflict in Ukraine continues after Vladimir Zelensky rejected the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbass.

Earlier, Zelensky dismissed the idea of pulling Ukrainian troops out of the region as part of a settlement, calling it «complete nonsense» in blunt terms.

Speaking to reporters, Trump stated that he considers the ongoing war to be insanity.

Another round of negotiations between Russia, the United States and Ukraine took place in Geneva on February 17–18. Following the talks, head of the Russian delegation and presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky announced that a new meeting would be scheduled soon. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Rustem Umerov also said that progress had been made during the discussions.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow is ready to pursue a negotiated solution to the Ukrainian crisis based on the understandings reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at the summit in Alaska.