America News Agency

Trump's remarks came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met for the first time on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to discuss conditions for ending the war in Ukraine.

After more than four hours of negotiations, it became clear that both sides agreed that elections should be held in Ukraine before reaching a final peace agreement.

The proposal has raised concerns that Russia may use the elections as a means to remove Ukraine's wartime leader and install a pro-Russian candidate who would accept peace terms favorable to Moscow.

Later on Tuesday, Donald Trump stated that the demand for Ukraine's presidential election came from him.

Speaking from the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Trump said: "There haven't been elections in Ukraine, martial law is in place, Ukraine's leader - I hate to say this, but he has a 4% approval rating and the country is in shambles..."

"If Ukraine wants a seat at the table, shouldn't people say it's been a long time since elections were held?"

"This is not a Russian issue, this is something coming from me and many other countries," Trump added.