GuShiio.com ① Trump said that Zelensky did not need to participate in the Russia-Ukraine conflict negotiations and criticized him for failing to end the conflict for three years;
② Trump will continue to advance his approach to direct negotiations with Russia, with or without Ukraine participation.
Financial Union, February 22 (Editor Niu Zhanlin)On Friday local time, US President Trump said that Zelensky did not need to participate in negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict because he was not very important. Trump’s criticism and humiliation of Zelensky continue to escalate.
Trump pointed out that Zelensky has participated in the talks for three years since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in 2022, but so far it has failed to end the conflict and nothing has been achieved.
He said: “Zelensky complained that he was not present in the talks we held in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, to try to mediate. Hey, he spent three years talking to a president who didn’t know what he was doing. But to be honest, I don’t think it’s that important for him to attend the talks.”
The remarks suggest that Trump will continue to advance his approach to direct negotiations with Russia, with or without Ukraine participation. Last week, he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and earlier this week, senior U.S. officials met with Russian representatives in Saudi Arabia, but no Ukraine attended.
Trump’s speech further subverted Biden’s handling of the conflict. Biden emphasized Ukraine’s dominant position and autonomy, that is, any decision about Ukraine should have Ukraine’s participation. Trump reiterated his view that Biden and Zelensky could have prevented the war.
Trump mentioned: “Every time I say,’Oh, it’s not Russia’s fault,’ I’m always attacked by fake news, but I tell you Biden said the wrong thing, Zelensky said the wrong thing, they were attacked by a bigger, stronger country, but Russia could have been easily persuaded to abandon military action.”
On Wednesday, Trump accused Zelensky of deceiving the United States by spending hundreds of billions of dollars on an impossible war that should not have started.
Trump also questioned Zelensky’s identity and leadership, accusing him of refusing to vote and having a very low approval rating in Ukraine opinion polls.”The only thing Zelensky is good at is playing with Biden.”
And Zelensky asked for a place at the negotiating table, reiterated his dissatisfaction with Ukraine being excluded from the Russia-US talks, and stressed that Ukraine would not accept any peace agreement that circumvents its participation.
U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Voltz admitted on Thursday that Trump’s patience with Zelensky was running out. “President Trump is obviously very dissatisfied with Zelensky because he rejected the U.S. proposal for cooperation on mineral resources in Ukraine.”
At the same time, according to media reports, few people in Trump’s inner circle support Zelensky and believe he should leave Ukraine immediately to avoid hindering peace talks with Russia.
