US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, could have “great influence” over Russian leader Vladimir Putin over efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

“I think he can have great influence over Putin… Look, he's a respected man. He's a very strong leader, a very great country. Yes, I think he can have great influence. we'll certainly talk about Russia, Ukraine,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Trump's comments came days before a scheduled meeting between the US and Chinese leaders in South Korea on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Trump had counted on the personal chemistry to reach an understanding with Putin over a peace deal in Ukraine but has been repeatedly thwarted by the Russian leader.

Postpones meeting with Putin

The president of the United States expressed his irritation with Putin on Wednesday, telling reporters, “Every time I talk to Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they go trying nowhere.”

Trump had been scheduled to meet with Putin in Hungary within weeks, but postponed the meeting on Tuesday, saying he did not want to have a “wasted meeting.”

The US leader is to end Moscow's more than 3 1/2-year-long full-scale encroachment on its neighbor through talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin. But he has made little concrete progress toward a peace deal.