President hits back at Ukraine’s complaint that it has been left out of US-Russia talks, saying it had years to make a deal ‘without the loss of much land’
President Donald Trump has criticised Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 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 Zelenskyy 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.
Zelenskyy had earlier on Tuesday criticised 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.
Talks “are taking place between representatives of Russia and representatives of the United States of America. About Ukraine – about Ukraine again – and without Ukraine,” he said.
The Ukrainian president’s comments appeared to anger Trump, who proceeded to launch a series of attacks on Zelenskyy, who has led Kyiv’s fight against Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
Asked whether the US would support Russia’s demands to force Zelenskyy to hold new elections as part of any deal, Trump said: “They want a seat at the table, but you could say … wouldn’t the people of Ukraine have a say? It’s been a long time since we’ve had an election.
“That’s not a Russian thing, that’s something coming from me, from other countries.
“We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have essentially martial law in Ukraine, where the leader in Ukraine – I mean, I hate to say it, but he’s down at 4% approval rating – and where a country has been blown to smithereens. Most of the cities are laying on their sides. The buildings are collapsed. It looks like a massive demolition site.”
