Trump says he is ready to visit Ukraine at right time UPDATED

US President Donald Trump has stated he would be prepared to visit Ukraine at an appropriate time.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump also said he would be pleased to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Caliber.Az reports.

"Yes, I would go to Ukraine at the right moment," he emphasised.

The US president further suggested that Washington could help ensure the closure of Ukrainian airspace if necessary.

18:02

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara for talks scheduled to last one hour.

Ahead of the meeting, Zelenskyy said the main topic of discussion would be strengthening Ukraine's air defences, particularly through additional missiles for Patriot systems capable of intercepting ballistic threats, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

During the summit, Trump noted that Ukraine has a great future, wonderful land and strong people.

He also stressed that his relationship with Zelenskyy had improved significantly since their meeting in the Oval Office.

"We have developed a good relationship with Zelensky. From the Oval Office to now," Trump added.

Zelenskyy replied: "This is not the end."

"This is going to be the beginning," Trump responded.

Trump described both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin as "difficult characters"

"Putin is a difficult character. This guy [points to Zelenskyy] is a difficult character. <…> We’ve made a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks, we’ll see how it all goes," he stressed.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was also present at the meeting, said Washington was discussing the possibility of allowing Ukraine to strike deeper into Russian territory in order to make it more difficult for Russia to protect its airspace.

According to Trump, Russia's terms for a settlement are becoming softer, while the war has proven more difficult for Moscow than it had anticipated.

The US president also repeated his longstanding claim that "the war would never have happened" had he been president at the time.

Commenting on Patriot systems, Trump noted that they we will give the Ukrainians the right to produce Patriots.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov