Washington [US], August 12 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Monday criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for refusing to cede territory to Russia, saying he “disagrees very, very severely” with the Ukrainian leader’s stance, according to The Hill.
Trump told reporters at the White House, “I get along with Zelensky, but, you know, I disagree with what he’s done. Very, very severely disagree. This is a war that should have never happened,” referring to the more than three-year conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Last week, Trump announced he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday to discuss ending the war, reportedly including talks about a territorial swap “for the betterment of both” countries—a proposal Zelensky strongly opposed on Saturday.
Zelensky stated, “Of course, we will not give Russia any awards for what it has done. The Ukrainian people deserve peace,” adding that “all partners” must understand peace and that “Ukrainians will not give their land to an occupier.”
Expressing frustration with Zelensky’s position, Trump said, “I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelensky was saying, ‘Well, I have to get constitutional approval.’ I mean, he’s got approval to go into war and kill everybody, but he needs approval to do a land swap — because there’ll be some land swapping going on.”
Trump emphasised the land swap would be “for the good of Ukraine,” while acknowledging the complexities involved. “So, it’s good and there’s bad, but it’s very complex, because you have lines that are very uneven, and there’ll be some swapping. There’ll be some changes in land,” he added.
The remarks follow a meeting between Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin in Moscow last week, where the Russian leader reportedly proposed a ceasefire requiring Ukraine to withdraw military forces from the Donetsk region, allowing Kremlin control alongside Luhansk.
Zelensky has not been invited to the upcoming summit with Putin. Trump said Monday he hopes a meeting between Zelensky and Putin, with or without his presence, will take place after the Alaska talks. “We’re going to have a meeting with Vladimir Putin, and at the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” Trump said.
“Ultimately, I’m going to put the two of them in a room. I’ll be there, or I won’t be there, and I think it’ll get solved,” the US President added.
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