Trump says he had a good discussions ” with Putin but not Ukraine while he degenerates the criticism of Zelenskyyy
President Donald Trump said on Friday that he had “good discussions” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but not with Ukraine when the United States is pushing the negotiations to end the three-year conflict that started When Putin’s forces have invaded his sovereign neighbor.
The commentary, made during a rally of republican governors and democrats at the White House, comes as Trump increases the criticisms of the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I had very good discussions with Putin,” said Trump. “And I didn’t have such good discussions with Ukraine.”
“They don’t have cards, but they play hard,” said Trump about Ukraine. “But we are not going to let it continue. This war is terrible. It would never have happened if I was president. But it happened.”
President Donald Trump speaks during the governors’ work session at the White House in Washington on February 21, 2025.
Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images
At a high -level meeting held in Saudi Arabia this week, US and Russian officials agreed to start working together on peace negotiations – marking a seismic diplomatic change in foreign policy in the United States .
Ukraine was notably absent from talks. Zelenskyy criticized the United States and Russia for going beyond Ukraine’s head and said that his country would not accept any agreement that they have not contributed to negotiating.
Trump replied by calling Zelenskyy a “dictator” and led Zelenskyy as an illegitimate leader due to the postponement of the country’s presidential elections until the war, under the constitution of the country.
The White House has been invited several times if Trump also considers Putin a dictator, but the officials, including the National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, dodged the question.
Zelenskyy has pushed back, pointing towards polls that show it above 50% and describing Trump’s assertion as a parrot of “Russian disinformation”.
Trump continued to attack Zelenskyy on Friday.
“I have been watching for years, and I watch him negotiate without cards. He has no cards. And you have enough. From Zelenskyy during an interview with Brian Kilmeade of Fox News Radio.
Special American envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg and the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at their meeting in kyiv, Ukraine, February 20, 2025.
Sergei Supinsky / AFP via Getty Images
During the interview, Trump was pressed several times for whom was to blame for the war, but he bypassed each time. At one point, it seemed to concede that Russia attacked Ukraine, but has always blamed Ukraine not to make concessions.
“Each time I say, oh, it’s not Russia’s fault, I’m still criticized by false news. But I tell you, Biden said bad things,” said Trump. “Zelenskyy said bad things.”
Trump seemed particularly upset by a mineral resource agreement that Ukraine rejected. An American official who knowing the negotiations said that a new version of the proposal had been put on the table.
While Trump criticized Zelenskyy, the retired general Keith Kellogg – the American special envoy for Ukraine – praised him as “courageous” after meeting him on Thursday.
“A long and intense day with the senior management of Ukraine. [Zelenskyy] The head of the nation in war and his talented national security team, ”wrote Kellog on his personal account X.
