US President Donald Trump has called on Volodymyr Zelensky to hold elections in Ukraine after the Ukrainian leader had hit out at his country’s exclusion from talks between the United States and Russia on ending the war.
Mr Trump also appeared to blame Ukraine’s president for the conflict, saying that Zelensky “could have made a deal”, a charge that prompted Sean Savett, former spokesperson for the White House National Security Council under Biden, to say: “Sounds like Trump bought Putin’s propaganda hook, line, and sinker.
Yesterday, the Ukrainian President was critical of the exclusion of his government from peace talks saying: “Decisions on how to end the war in Ukraine cannot be made without Ukraine, nor can any conditions be imposed”.
“We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us, I think for many others as well.”
Mr Trump responded by saying: “I’m very disappointed, I hear that they’re upset about not having a seat.”
“Today I heard, ‘oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years… You should have never started it. You could have made a deal,” he said.
“They want a seat at the table, but you could say… wouldn’t the people of Ukraine have a say? It’s been a long time since we’ve had an election,” said Mr Trump.
“We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have essentially martial law in Ukraine, where the leader in Ukraine – I mean, I hate to say it, but he’s down at 4% approval rating – and where a country has been blown to smithereens. Most of the cities are laying on their sides. The buildings are collapsed. It looks like a massive demolition site,” he added.
It is unclear where Mr Trump based his claim for a 4% approval rating – and Mr Zelensky has hit back, saying: “I’m president of Ukraine because 73% of people voted for me. And today I’m president because the majority in my country support me. I’m a patriot, just like the people defending our country.
“Of course Russia wants to get rid of me. Maybe not physically any longer, like they did at the beginning of the war, but politically. And that’s absolutely understandable as I’m a very uncomfortable person, uncomfortable for Putin,” he told German public broadcaster ARD.
Mr Zelensky was elected in 2019, before the Russian invasion, for a five-year term, but his government has remained in office as Ukraine remains under martial law after the outbreak of war.
Eleven opposition parties, most of them smaller groupings except one, Opposition Platform for Life which had 44 members of Parliament, have been suspended since March 2022.
At that time, the Ukrainian leader also signed a decree that united all national TV channels into one platform, saying that the country needed an “unified information policy” under martial law.
Some European leaders are concerned that Mr Trump may seek to grant too many concessions to Russia in his pursuit of a peace deal in Ukraine deal – with the U.S. President telling reporters at Mar-a-Lago yesterday: “I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it’s going very well”.
Kaja Kallas, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said on X: “Russia will try to divide us. Let’s not walk into their traps. By working together with the US, we can achieve a just and lasting peace – on Ukraine’s terms.”