NEW YORK, June 20. /TASS/. Former US President Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview on Monday that he has very good relations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin even though the two haven’t spoken "in a long while."

"With Putin, I have a very good relationship. I mean, I haven't spoken to him in a long while, but I had a very strong relationship," Trump said. He also claimed that his conversation with the Russian president delayed the special military operation for several years.

According to Trump, Russia would have never launched its special op in Ukraine, had he retained the post of US president. "He wouldn't have done it if it were me. He did it after I left," the ex-US president emphasized.

Trump reiterated that he would end the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours. "I would have a deal done in 24 hours from the time we started. And I would tell [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky something and I would tell Putin something <…>," Trump maintained. "The death would stop, and the destruction would stop," he concluded.