Donald Trump, who has long admired Vladimir Putin, believes the Russian president has “weakened somewhat” after the short-lived Wagner uprising.

The remarks came in an interview with Reuters, in which the former US president said that the time had come to negotiate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

– I want to end people dying in this stupid war, Trump said.

He did not rule out that Ukraine may have to cede part of its territory to Russia to end the war.

– You need to have the right broker or dealer, and we don’t have them now. I think the most important thing for the US to do now is to make peace – get Russia and Ukraine together to make peace, Trump said.

Will wait with the discussion of war crimes

He believes Putin is still standing strong despite Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin calling off the mutiny and march on Moscow.

– But Putin has clearly become somewhat weak, at least in the minds of many, he added.

When asked about the International Criminal Court’s accusations against Putin for war crimes, Trump said he believed it should be discussed when the war was over.

– If you bring up the topic now, you will never reach an agreement, said Trump.

In the interview, he also revealed China’s plan to build an intelligence base in Cuba.

– I’ll give them 48 hours to go. If they don’t do that, I will introduce 100 percent tariffs on everything they sell to the United States, and then they will leave Cuba in two days, believes the former president, who wants to run again next year.

Consider dropping the debate

Trump is one of the candidates who has entered the race for the Republican nomination, but told Reuters he was considering leaving the first debate.

The debate, hosted in Milwaukee by Fox News on Aug. 23, will be voters’ first chance to see the candidates face off against each other.

Trump described Fox News as adversarial and also said he saw no point in running against a candidate far behind him in the opinion polls. He said he was instead considering offers to hold separate events at the same time as the debate or later the same night.

– There are many offers, whether it be public meetings or interviews with other people. Not to brag, but the debate wouldn’t be as fun if I wasn’t involved.