Lavrov said his country would not accept peacekeeping forces from Nato countries in Ukraine under any peace deal, a proposal raised at a meeting of European members of Nato in Paris on Monday.

European Nato states, who remain committed to supporting Ukraine against Russia, have been smarting at being sidelined by Trump’s unilateral peace initiative, which reversed the resolutely pro-Ukraine policy of his predecessor as president, Joe Biden.

Following what he referred to as “the infamous meeting” – to which Ukraine was not invited either – Zelensky accused the Russian delegation in Riyadh of lying, adding that Russia could not be trusted and “must be pressured for peace”.

Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago residence, Trump was asked by BBC News what his message was to Ukrainians who might feel betrayed.

“I hear that they’re upset about not having a seat, well, they’ve had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily,” he said.

“You should have never started it. You could have made a deal,” he later added.

“I could have made a deal for Ukraine,” he said. “That would have given them almost all of the land, everything, almost all of the land – and no people would have been killed, and no city would have been demolished.”

After the meeting in Riyadh, Trump said he was “much more confident”.

“They were very good,” he said. “Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the savage barbarianism.”

“I think I have the power to end this war,” he added.