Russian foreign minister accuses NBC host of wanting something to 'sell' during tense Ukraine exchange

"Russia started [a] special military operation to defend the people who [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and his predecessor did not consider as humans," Lavrov said. "They called them being suspicious. You should, look, you should really - I understand that you need something to sell today - but if you are raising and touching up on such serious things, my suggestion is to take a look at the history of Ukrainian development after the coup in 2014."

Welker noted it was a yes-or-no question and asked again, "Do you acknowledge Russia invaded Ukraine?"

"I said to you that we started special military operations," Lavrov replied. "To protect the people whom the regime declared terrorists and enemies and whom the regime was bombing."

Trump told reporters on Friday that he would have a better sense of whether a deal that ends the conflict is feasible and what kind of actions the U.S. should take moving forward on negotiations in the coming weeks. 

"We'll see what happens. I think over the next two weeks, we're going to find out which way it's going to go," Trump said.

"It's going to be a very important decision," Trump said. "And that's whether or not it's massive sanctions or massive tariffs, or both. Or do we do nothing and say, 'It's your fight'?"