President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky does not have a pressing need to participate in negotiations aimed at ending the war with Russia. This was stated by U.S. President Donald Trump in an interview with Fox News Radio, as reported by Bloomberg.
CBS journalist Jennifer Jacobs quotes the White House chief:
I don't think he is that important for the meetings [on peace negotiations]... And just so you know, when you say that Russia attacked Ukraine, Russia did attack, but they had no reason to do so. This war should never have happened.
You know, every time I say, "Oh, it's not Russia's fault," I get criticized for spreading fake news. But I'm telling you, Biden said the wrong things, and Zelensky said the wrong things.
They were attacked by someone much bigger and stronger, which is bad, and that shouldn't happen. But Russia could have been easily dissuaded from this.
This was never supposed to become a war, and all these dead people should not have died, and all these cities should not have been destroyed.
Oh, he was not invited to the meeting [in Saudi Arabia], I mean, it wasn't a priority because he negotiates poorly.
First of all, there should not have been a war, and if it started, it should have been resolved and settled immediately.
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In recent days, following Russian-American negotiations in Riyadh, Donald Trump has been sharply criticizing President Zelensky.
The U.S. President stated that Zelensky is a "mediocre comedian," has low approval ratings, and called him a "dictator without elections."
Bloomberg reports that Moscow did not expect such a harsh tone from Trump towards Zelensky. The Kremlin regime does not fully understand Trump's negotiation strategy and fears potential traps in the process.
According to U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, Trump's dissatisfaction was triggered by Zelensky's refusal to sign the proposed agreement granting the U.S. access to Ukraine's subsoil. The White House conveyed an "enhanced" agreement regarding minerals to Kyiv.