A war of words began between the two presidents after Washington and Moscow arranged a meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss the Ukrainian war and excluded Kiev.
The meeting agreed to begin negotiations earlier this month to end the war in Ukraine, following a call between President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The meeting was filled with harsh responses from Zelensky. He said Kiev would not accept the agreement that negotiations were not involved. He then criticized the Trump administration for “stopping Putin out of quarantine.”
Trump then took the responsibility to tacitly begin a war on Ukraine. “You were there for three years, you should have finished it… you should have never started it. You could have made a deal.” He said, addressing Zelensky indirectly.
Describing the Ukrainian president as a “dictator,” Trump on Wednesday warned Zelensky that there is a risk that he will move quickly in negotiations to end the war or that there will be no country to lead.
Zelensky later said Trump was falling into a “disinformation” trap in Russia.
Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago. Previously, in 2014, Russia took over Crimea and then took over Ukraine’s territory. Former US President Joe Biden administration tried to isolate Russia in the war, but Trump worked with Moscow to address the policies he adopted during his first term in office.
The US president’s decision to begin negotiations with Russia without Ukraine’s participation and subsequent clashes with the Ukrainian president have put Zelensky in a troublesome position.
MNA/