President Donald Trump has criticized Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he was “disappointed” that the Ukrainian leader complained about being left out of talks between the US and Russia over ending the Ukraine war.
Trump also seemed to blame Kyiv for Moscow’s invasion – even as he said he was more confident of a deal to end the war after US-Russia talks – claiming Ukraine could have “made a deal” to avert war.
“I’m very disappointed, I hear that they’re upset about not having a seat [at the talks],” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida when asked about the Ukrainian reaction. The US president said a “half baked” negotiator could have secured a settlement years ago “without the loss of much land”.
“Today I heard, ‘oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years … You should have never started it. You could have made a deal,” he said.
Speaking in Florida on Tuesday night, Trump increased pressure on Zelensky to hold elections – echoing one of Moscow’s key demands.
The US president also suggested that he could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin before the end of the month as Washington overhauls its stance towards Russia in a shift that has alarmed European leaders.
Zelensky had earlier on Tuesday criticized the US-Russia talks for excluding Kyiv, saying efforts to end the war must be “fair” and involve European countries, while postponing his own trip to Saudi Arabia, where the US-Russia talks took place.
