U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Friday (February 21, 2025) that Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin must “get together” to finish the struggle between Moscow and Kyiv.
Mr. Trump’s feedback marked a shift from criticising Mr. Zelensky as a “dictator,” after the Ukrainian president complained that his nation — invaded by Russia in 2022 — had been omitted of talks between U.S. and Russian officers.
“President Putin and President Zelenskyy are going to have to get together. Because you know what? We want to stop killing millions of people,” Mr. Trump instructed reporters within the Oval Office.
Mr. Trump added Kyiv would “hopefully in the next fairly short period of time” signal a deal handing Washington preferential entry to Ukraine’s mineral deposits.
“They’re very brave, in every way you can imagine. But we are spending our treasure on some country that’s very, very far away,” Mr. Trump stated of Ukraine.
EDITORIAL | Engaging Russia: On U.S. President Trump, Russia and the Ukraine struggle
Mr. Trump needs Ukraine to offer U.S. corporations entry to its huge pure assets as compensation for the tens of billions of {dollars} of assist delivered beneath his predecessor Joe Biden.
In return, Ukraine is looking for safety ensures from the United States for signing away the dear rights.
Mr. Zelenskyy — who had rejected the settlement — stated Friday he hoped for a “fair result.”
Trump: Ukraine has no ‘playing cards’
The minerals deal has develop into a significant sticking level within the more and more fraught relations between Washington and Kyiv.
In a public spat, Mr. Trump this week known as Mr. Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections” and blamed Ukraine for beginning the struggle.
Earlier Friday, Mr. Trump described Ukraine as at an obstacle within the negotiations — additional alarming allies who assume he’ll supply concessions to Mr. Putin.
“I’ve had very good talks with Putin, and I’ve had not such good talks with Ukraine. They don’t have any cards,” Mr. Trump stated on the White House.
His name for Mr. Zelenskyy and Mr. Putin to work collectively got here regardless of him saying in a Fox News interview that it was not “very important” for Mr. Zelenskyy to be concerned in U.S.-Russia talks.
Mr. Trump once more declined guilty Russia for the February 2022 invasion, saying that Mr. Putin “attacked but they shouldn’t have let him attack.”
The U.S. president added that Mr. Putin — the Russian strongman for whom he has repeatedly expressed admiration — confronted no stress to make a deal.
“He doesn’t have to make a deal, because if he wanted, he’d get the whole country,” Mr. Trump stated.
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer — who’re each due on the White House subsequent week for probably tough discussions — have been accused by Mr. Trump of doing nothing to finish the struggle.
Mr. Macron stated Friday he’ll inform Trump that “you can’t be weak with President Putin.”
Published – February 22, 2025 10:43 am IST
