Trump says expected meeting with Putin in Saudi Arabia 'could be very soon'

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that his expected meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia "could be very soon."

"It could be very soon. It'll be soon," Trump told reporters on Sunday.

Trump said he was working hard to achieve peace and said he believes both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy want to stop fighting.

"I think he wants to stop fighting. I see that. We spoke long and hard," Trump said.

"We're moving along. We're trying to get peace with Russia-Ukraine, and we're working very hard on it. It's a war that should have never started," he stressed.

Russian newspaper Kommersant reported late on Sunday that talks on Ukraine with the participation of the Russian delegation are expected to take place in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Tuesday.

Earlier, Zelenskyy said he would reject any agreement between the US and Russia that does not include Kiev, emphasising that no world leader can decide Ukraine's fate without its direct participation.

On February 12, Trump held separate phone calls with Putin and Zelenskyy in a bid to end the Ukraine conflict.

EU's version of Afghanistan

Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned that Ukraine could turn into the European Union's version of Afghanistan if Trump is unable to secure a peace deal.

"If President Trump is not able to find a solution, the war in Ukraine could become easily an Afghanistan for the EU," said Orban, speaking at a media event over the weekend in Dubai with Tucker Carlson.

"Endless war, endless conflict, no way out of the conflict, eating up energy, human lives, money, everything, destroying the frame (work) of normal life for the European Union. So we are in serious danger," he warned.

"The difficulty is — and that's not my challenge, but it's a challenge to President Trump — how to convince the Russians to stop the war while the Russians are basically winning. This is the big question," he added.

Trump's latest call with Putin has sparked worries in Kiev and across Europe that Washington and Moscow might shape Ukraine's future without its involvement.