President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Ukraine should have “made a deal” to avert war against Russia as the bloody conflict nears the three-year mark.
Trump made the comments during a Tuesday press conference in Mar-a-Lago in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressing frustrations over being excluded from talks being held between the United States and Russia. U.S. officials, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Asked about Ukraine’s complaints after the United States met with Russia, Trump said Ukraine should have prevented the bloodshed by making a deal with Russia “years ago.”
“I hear they’re upset about not having a seat. Well, they’ve had a seat for three years,” Trump said. “And a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily. A half-baked negotiator could have settled this years ago.”
“You should’ve never started it,” Trump added. “You could’ve made a deal. I could’ve made a deal for Ukraine that would have given them almost all of the land, everything, almost all of the land, and no people would have been killed, and no city would have been demolished, and not one dome would have been knocked down. But they chose not to do it that way.”
More than one million people have been killed or injured in the Ukraine-Russia war that began when Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Zelensky said on Sunday that he will not even consider any negotiated deal between the UNited States and Russia.
“I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine,” Zelensky said on Sunday. “Never.”
Trump said the meeting with Russia was “very good,” adding that he’s “much more confident” about a deal being made to end the “barbarianism.” Even if the United States and Russia come to an agreement on ending the war during their talks in Saudi Arabia, however, getting Zelensky on board will be a major hurdle.
During his remarks on Tuesday, Trump also called on Ukraine to hold elections, claiming that Zelensky has a “4% approval rating.” Zelensky responded to Trump’s comments on Wednesday, saying the president “is trapped” in a Russian “disinformation bubble.”
“Unfortunately, President Trump, with all due respect for him as the leader of a nation that we respect greatly … is trapped in this disinformation bubble,” the Ukrainian leader said, adding, “As we are talking about 4%, we have seen this disinformation, we understand it’s coming from Russia.”
Countries around the world, led by the United States, have aided Ukraine’s defense throughout the war. According to the State Department, the United States has sent $65.9 billion in military assistance — which includes weapons, ammunition, missiles, and fighter jets — to Ukraine since the war began.
