(TNND) — President Donald Trump told "Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson" that failing to get Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine would be "bad news for this world."

"Because so many people are dying," Trump told Attkisson. "But I think ... he's going to agree. I really do. I think I know him pretty well, and I think he's going to agree."

Russian foreign policy expert Mark N. Katz said Trump sees a continuation of the war as bad for not just Ukraine, but also Russia and the rest of Europe.

“I don't think he was making a comment on how the U.S. would react,” said Katz, a professor emeritus of government and politics at George Mason University.

Trump views the war as counterproductive, Katz said.

Trump thinks ending the war would allow Russia to normalize relations and see sanctions lifted, Katz said.

Ending the war would save lives.

And it could even open the door for U.S. investments in Russia, Katz said.

“From Trump's deal-making viewpoint, it just makes sense,” he said.

Though, he noted, Trump can't bind American corporations to invest in Russia or trade with Russia. And a lot of them have had bad experiences in Russia in the past.

Trump plans to speak with Putin on Tuesday as he pushes to end the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine has agreed to an American-proposed 30-day ceasefire with Russia.

Now, the ball is in Putin’s court.

The ceasefire breakthrough arrived in talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, last week in Saudi Arabia.

The U.S. also agreed to resume military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

The turnaround came after a tense White House meeting at the end of last month between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump told Attkisson that he wants to end the war to save lives and money, telling her the U.S. has spent “massive amounts of money” on helping Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

Trump told Attkisson that the U.S. has spent $350 billion on Ukraine, which is a higher dollar amount than what’s been reported by other sources, including an official U.S. government website.

The Council on Foreign Relations says the U.S. has pledged $175 billion to support Ukraine via five bills passed by Congress, most recently in April 2024.

And the Council on Foreign Relations noted that a lot of the Ukraine funds passed by Congress are being spent in the U.S., paying for American factories and workers to produce weapons that are either shipped to Ukraine or used to replenish American arsenals.

The U.S. is Ukraine’s largest donor, but over a dozen European countries have given Ukraine a bigger percentage of their economic output as support against Russia.

Attkisson also asked Trump about his campaign pledge to end the war in 24 hours if elected.

“Well, I was being a little bit sarcastic when I said that. ... What I really mean is I'd like to get it settled,” Trump told her.

Katz said Trump likely knew that was a campaign promise he couldn’t keep.

“I'm pretty sure that he knew during the campaign that he wasn't going to end it within 24 hours,” Katz said. “I think what he was trying to indicate during the campaign (was) that he would try to end it quickly.”

It won’t be easy to get Putin to agree to a ceasefire, Katz said.

And it probably won’t happen quickly.

“Putin has indicated that he doesn't want just a ceasefire,” Katz said. “He wants to address the root causes, as he sees them. So, he wants a ceasefire plus concessions from Ukraine and the West.”

Putin won’t want the West to keep arming the Ukrainians, Katz said.

The French and British are talking about sending troops to Ukraine to provide security guarantees in the event of a ceasefire, but Katz said both nations will be wary of sending troops without American support.

Ukraine and the West might demand North Korean troops leave Russia in exchange, Katz said.

The North Koreans have been helping Russia drive back Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, and that mission has mostly been accomplished. So, it’s possible Putin would be OK with losing North Korean support on the battlefield.

Putin likely wants to not only keep what he’s gained but add the rest of the land in partially occupied Ukrainian provinces, according to Katz.

Russia controls nearly 44,000 square miles of Ukraine, or close to a fifth of Ukrainian territory including Crimea and parts of Donbas that Russia had seized before its 2022 invasion.

Russia has taken over another 27,000 square miles of Ukraine since its invasion three years ago.

And Putin wants a guarantee that NATO won’t admit Ukraine, which Katz said should be viewed as an untenable demand.

NATO was created in 1949 by the U.S., Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.

NATO membership is between NATO and candidate countries, Katz said.

Katz said Putin doesn’t want to burn his bridges with Trump, so he’s likely to entertain ceasefire talks.

But Katz doesn’t see Putin making any commitments quickly.

If Putin doesn’t eventually agree to a ceasefire, then Trump will have to decide if he wants to increase the pressure on Russia via more sanctions or with more support for Ukraine.

Katz said more sanctions aren’t likely to change Russia's behavior.

And he said Trump probably doesn’t want to increase support for Ukraine.

Katz said Putin might try to jam Trump into that tough decision.

“Putin might see it as a way to call Trump's bluff,” Katz said.

Or, Katz said, Putin might try and put Ukraine in a hard position between agreeing to a Russia-favoring deal or risk further damaging its relations with Trump.

Katz said that’s a classic Russian “divide your opponents from each other strategy.”