President Trump offered some candid insights Monday afternoon into the ramped up efforts by his administration to bring an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine. 

Speaking from the Oval Office following an event in which he awarded the first-ever Medals of Sacrifice to the families of three fallen Florida police officers, the president had harsh words for the previous administration and Europe, stating the ongoing conflict was a “bloodbath.” He also welcomed the idea of the Vatican being involved in bringing about a peaceful and lasting solution to the bloodshed.

As RedState’s Ward Clark reported earlier Monday, the president held a marathon phone call with Vladimir Putin and several European heads of states in order to push Russia towards a ceasefire in the years-long war between the two nations. Here’s some of Ward’s recap:

Just completed my two hour call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. I believe it went very well. Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War. The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of. The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent. If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later. Russia wants to do largescale TRADE with the United States when this catastrophic “bloodbath” is over, and I agree. There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth.

Trump expanded on that phone call during his Oval Office remarks, telling the assembled press corps that he would step back from negotiations if he thought a deal wasn’t possible. “My whole life is deals,” said Trump. “One big deal.”

On whether or not a deal would happen if Trump and Putin didn’t meet in person to hammer things out, the president responded, “I think something will happen. Big egos involved, I tell you. But, I think something is going to happen. And if it doesn’t, I just back away and they have to keep going.”