President Trump on Friday lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he did not think it was important for Zelensky to attend negotiations about the war in Ukraine.
Trump in an interview with Brian Kilmeade on Fox News Radio acknowledged Russia attacked Ukraine, but still suggested President Biden and Zelensky shared blame for failing to talk down Moscow.
“I’ve been watching for years, and I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards,” Trump said of Zelensky. “He has no cards. And you get sick of it.”
“So, I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings, to be honest with you,” Trump added. “He makes it very hard to make deals.”
Trump suggested Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine. He claimed Putin did not necessarily have to negotiate a ceasefire, because if he wanted, he’d get the whole country.”
“Every time I say, ‘Oh, it’s not Russia’s fault,’ I always get slammed by the fake news,” Trump told Kilmeade. “But I’m telling you, Biden said the wrong things. Zelensky said the wrong things. They got attacked by somebody that’s much bigger and much stronger.”
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, after amassing troops on the border and demanding a ban on Ukraine ever joining NATO. The invasion took place nearly a decade after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Trump has become increasingly critical of the Ukrainian leader. Trump has in recent days called him a “dictator without elections,” claimed he was doing a “terrible job” and falsely suggested Zelensky was the one who started the war with Russia.
Trump administration officials met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia earlier this week to start talks about ending the war. Zelensky had expressed frustration that Ukrainian officials were not involved in the discussions.
Trump administration officials have pushed for Ukraine to accept a deal that would give the United States a stake in Ukraine’s rare mineral supply, arguing that the economic agreement would create an incentive for the U.S. to provide security guarantees for Kyiv. Zelensky has said he was presented with the proposal last week with little notice or time to assess the deal.
“President Zelensky is going to sign that deal, and you will see it in the very short term,” national security adviser Mike Waltz said Friday morning at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
After the interview, Trump again chided Ukraine during remarks to a bipartisan group of governors at the White House.
“I’ve had very good talks with Putin,” Trump said, and “not such good talks with Ukraine.”
