The United States is discussing possibility of returning deported Ukrainian children as one of the key steps to strengthen trust, White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said in an interview with CBS News.

The presenter noted that one of the issues raised by US President Donald Trump is the return of Ukrainian children who were abducted as part of Russia's state program of Russification, forced removal from families and deportation to Russia.

"President Trump has spoken to both leaders about prisoner exchanges. Both the Russians and Ukrainians exchanged prisoners, nearly 200, immediately following their call. And he's also talked about the future of these children. So that's certainly, first and foremost, and, kind of, confidence building measures," Waltz said.

At the same time, the US presidential advisor said that it is worth taking a step back and assessing the situation. According to him, a few months ago no one was talking about how this war would end, and now it is worth thinking about what it will be like in a year, two or three. He emphasized that the conflict was previously at a standstill, but now both sides are participating in negotiations in the same room.

Waltz also stated that the US is actually implementing President Trump's vision of ending the war, which was part of his election campaign.

However, when asked by the host whether the US would demand the release of these children as a step to strengthen trust, Waltz answered in the affirmative.

"We're talking through a number of confidence building measures. That's one of them," he said.