US president Donald Trump believes Russia has “the cards” in any peace talks to end the war in Ukraine since they have “taken a lot of territory.”
The US president told the BBC that he believes Moscow wants to put an end to the war, which began when Russia launched a full-fledged invasion over three years ago.
Trump was flying back to Washington DC after speaking at a Saudi-backed investment summit in Florida when he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator” for the second time in a day.
Trump was enraged when Zelensky, responding to US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia from which Kyiv was barred, said the US president was “living in a disinformation space” dominated by Moscow.
“I think the Russians want to see the war end; I really do. I think they have the cards a little bit, because they’ve taken a lot of territory. They have the cards,” Trump told the BBC on Air Force One.
When asked if he believes Russia wants peace, Trump replied, “I do.”.
He was speaking after hitting out at Zelensky in Florida, where Trump referred to the Ukrainian president as a “dictator” just hours after using the same term in a Truth Social post.
A White House official stated that Trump’s post was a direct response to Zelensky’s “disinformation” comments.
“He refuses to have elections. He’s low in the real Ukrainian polls. How can you be high with every city being demolished?” Trump said in Florida.
Zelensky’s five-year term was set to end in May 2024. However, Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and elections have been suspended.
Trump has tried to make an issue of Zelensky’s popularity, stating that the Ukrainian president has only a 4% approval rating. However, BBC Verify claims that a recent poll revealed that 57% of Ukrainians trusted the president.
The “dictator” slur quickly prompted criticism from European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said, “It is simply wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelensky his democratic legitimacy.”.
In a phone chat with Ukraine’s president, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated unequivocally that he supported Zelensky.
On Tuesday, US and Russian officials held their first high-level, face-to-face discussions since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Ukraine was not invited.
The US president then appeared to blame Ukraine for the war, saying, “You should never have started it.” “You could have struck a deal.”
Zelensky responded by accusing Russia of lying during Tuesday’s “notorious meeting.”.
“With all due respect to President Donald Trump as a leader… he is living in this disinformation space,” he said.
