Trump renews harsh criticism of Zelensky

US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday, saying it was unnecessary for him to attend negotiations with Russia where he had no cards, while Volodymyr Zelensky hopes for a fair deal with the United States on his country’s strategic minerals in exchange for its support for Kiev.

In a video message, the Ukrainian president said, “the Ukrainian and American teams are working on a draft agreement between our governments… I hope to reach a result, a fair result”.

In early February, the US president announced that he wanted to negotiate a deal with Ukraine to gain access to 50% of its strategic minerals in exchange for US aid.

Zelensky rejected the US proposal, noting that it didn’t address the security guarantees that his country has been seeking for three years in the face of the Russian invasion.

However, he left the door open to American investments in this area.

In this context, the US President renewed his criticism of his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday.

“I had a very good conversation with Putin,” Trump said at an event with US governors at the White House.

“I had a not-so-good conversation with Ukraine… They have no cards, but they are playing hardball, and we aren’t going to let that continue”.

Trump stressed in an interview with Fox News that Zelensky “has been holding meetings for three years and nothing has been accomplished”.

He added, “I don’t think it matters much that he is at the meetings”.

On Friday, the Republican president again refused to hold Russia directly responsible for the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, telling Fox Radio that Russia attacked, but Western leaders shouldn’t have allowed it to attack.

Trump accused French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer of doing nothing to end the war.

He is scheduled to meet separately with Macron and Starmer next week at the White House.

“The war is on… They had no meetings with Russia, nothing at all, they did nothing,” Trump said.

Later, the White House chief stressed the need for communication between Putin and Zelensky, in order to stop a war that is killing millions of people.

In parallel, the United States proposed on Friday to the United Nations General Assembly a draft resolution calling for a rapid end to the conflict in Ukraine without any reference to the country’s territorial integrity.

The text, prepared to mark the third anniversary of the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is matched by a Kyiv-drafted text and comes ahead of a vote expected Monday.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called the US draft a good idea.

Trump’s new statements come after sharp criticism of the Ukrainian president, which prompted reactions from Kiev and shocked his European allies, following a visit by the US president’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, which seemed to have helped calm the situation.

Zelensky said he had constructive talks with Kellogg, particularly on security guarantees for Ukraine.

On Friday, the US envoy confirmed that he had held positive talks with Zelensky, the brave and besieged leader of a country at war.

For its part, the German government, after a call between Zelensky and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, reiterated on Friday that Kyiv and Berlin agreed that Ukraine must attend the negotiations and that security issues in Europe must be discussed jointly with the Europeans.

In his video message on Friday evening, Zelensky said, “Europe can and must do more to ensure peace,” adding, “we have clear proposals with our European partners”.

For its part, South Africa, which just hosted a G20 meeting in which the United States wasn’t represented at the highest level, stressed on Friday that negotiations on Ukraine must include all parties.

Regarding the Ukrainian minerals deal, White House National Security Advisor Mike Walz said, “Zelensky will sign this deal, and you will see that in the short term, which is good for Ukraine”.

Trump and Zelensky exchanged unprecedented personal attacks after the Russian-US talks held in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the first at the level of foreign ministers in three years.

Since then, tensions between Kiev and Washington have escalated sharply.

Trump has accused Zelensky of being a “dictator” and begun a sudden rapprochement with the Kremlin, marking a dangerous turn for Ukraine.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that the Russian president is open to peace talks.

“We’ve our goals related to our national security and national interests, and we are ready to achieve them through peace negotiations,” he said.

Russia is demanding in particular that Kiev give up four Ukrainian regions that Moscow has declared annexed, in addition to the Crimean Peninsula, and that Ukraine never join NATO.

These conditions are unacceptable to the Ukrainian authorities, who are demanding strong security guarantees from their allies to deter Russia from invading again.

On February 12, Trump considered that Ukraine joining NATO wouldn’t be realistic.

Just days before the third anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the situation remains difficult for Ukrainian forces.

On Friday, the Russian army announced that it had taken control of two towns in the Ukrainian Donetsk region near the border with Dnipropetrovsk, which Moscow’s forces haven’t yet entered.

In the face of fierce criticism from the White House, Zelensky has received support from the European Union and many European leaders, some of whom are expected to arrive in Kyiv to mark the anniversary of the invasion on Monday.

French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting Washington on Monday to meet with Trump.