MOSCOW: Former US President Donald Trump has said that he could negotiate a cessation of the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours if he were still in office now and argued that the crisis would have never happened had he kept his post, reported Sputnik.

"If I were president, the Russia/Ukraine war would never have happened, but even now, if president, I would be able to negotiate an end to this horrible and rapidly escalating war within 24 hours," Trump said on Truth Social on Thursday, as quoted by US weekly Newsweek.

The former top official also called for an end to the conflict and warned that the decision of US President Joe Biden's administration to send 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine may result in the deployment of nuclear weapons by Russia.

Trump has repeatedly warned that the Ukraine crisis could end up being World War III.

On Wednesday, Biden announced that the United States would send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. However, US officials said that the delivery of the tanks to Ukraine's battlefields and training will take many months, certainly not in time for Ukraine's alleged counteroffensive in spring.

--BERNAMA