Trump said the United States and Ukraine could’ve talked Russia out of invading Ukraine in 2022 and could’ve started negotiations with Moscow years ago.
President Donald Trump has faulted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not doing enough to end the Russia–Ukraine war sooner, and suggested the Ukrainian leader’s input isn’t necessary at every stage of negotiations for a peace settlement.
In an interview with Fox News Radio on Feb. 21, Trump addressed criticisms he’s faced for allowing a U.S. delegation to hold talks with Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, without having Ukrainian representatives present. Following the meeting, Zelenskyy postponed his own planned visit to the country to distance himself from the meeting and its outcomes.
Trump said Zelenskyy had neglected earlier opportunities to pursue peace and is now complicating negotiations.
“I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings, to be honest with you. He’s been there for three years. He makes it very hard to make deals,” Trump told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade.
Throughout the interview, Trump expressed frustration at the extent of the damage and destruction both sides have faced over the course of the war. Kilmeade, at one point, asked whether Trump should direct the blame for the war’s destruction at Russian President Vladimir Putin for ordering what Kilmeade called an unwarranted invasion “to try to take back land he had no right to.”
Trump said that Moscow deserved blame for ordering Russian troops into Ukraine and that Zelenskyy and former President Joe Biden said “the wrong things.”
“Putin could have been talked out of that so easily, but they didn’t know how to talk … I’m not trying to make Putin like nicer or better,” Trump said. “I’m just telling you the fact that war should have never happened.”
The president said once the war began, efforts should have started immediately to negotiate its end.
Trump and Zelenskyy have already traded barbs this week after the U.S. president argued in favor of new elections in Ukraine and questioned Zelenskyy’s approval ratings.
By Ryan Morgan
