U.S.-Russia Ministerial Talks "Very Good"
Trump Attacks Zelensky: "Should Never Have Started the War"
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 18th (local time) that he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin within this month to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war. Regarding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who expressed dissatisfaction with the U.S.-Russia peace talks held that day without Ukraine's involvement, Trump criticized him as a "4% approval rating" president who triggered a war that should never have started. He also expressed a negative stance on the U.S. military presence in Ukraine, which was one of the conditions Ukraine demanded for the peace negotiations.
At a press conference held at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida that day, President Trump said about the high-level U.S.-Russia talks for ending the Ukraine war, "The talks were very good."
He said he has "more confidence" in the possibility of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine and that he could meet with President Putin before the end of this month.
He mentioned that many soldiers from both Russia and Ukraine have died on the battlefield and noted that "many North Korean troops deployed there have also died." Although Russia and North Korea have not officially announced the deployment, President Trump confirmed it.
Regarding the deployment of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine after the end of the war, Trump said, "If (Europe) wants to do that, I fully support it," but added, "We are far away, so we will not do that." Ukraine has demanded the deployment of peacekeeping forces, including U.S. troops, as one of the conditions for peace negotiations, and this statement is interpreted as indicating that the U.S. will not accept this.
President Trump criticized President Zelensky, who expressed dissatisfaction with the high-level U.S.-Russia talks and Ukraine being bypassed, saying he was "disappointed." He pointed out, "They have been sitting at the negotiating table for three years," and "They are worried because they cannot sit at the table, but they could have negotiated a long time ago."
He also said that President Zelensky did not hold the October 2023 general election and the March presidential election last year, citing martial law as the reason. President Trump said, "The approval rating of the Ukrainian leader has dropped to 4%," and added, "Shouldn't the Ukrainian people hold elections? Ukraine is collapsing." He referred to Zelensky, saying, "You should never have started. You could have made a deal," and criticized, "Personally, I like him, but the continuation of the war is a leadership problem." This was an attack blaming the lack of leadership of President Zelensky for the Ukraine war that began with Russia's invasion in February 2022.
In this regard, the U.S. media Axios recently reported that President Zelensky's approval rating reached 50% according to a recent poll.
On the same day, the U.S. and Russia held high-level talks in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, to end the Ukraine war. On the U.S. side, Secretary of State Mark Rubio and others attended, while on the Russian side, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and others participated. Both sides formed a high-level negotiation team and agreed to expand cooperation for postwar reconstruction in Ukraine. They also discussed lifting sanctions against Russia, and after the talks, Secretary Rubio requested concessions from the European Union (EU) regarding the lifting of Russian sanctions. President Zelensky responded to this by saying, "We were not invited to the U.S.-Russia meeting held in Saudi Arabia," and protested, "It is important that negotiations are not held behind the backs of the main parties. No decision should be forced upon Ukraine."
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