The president spoke with reporters on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where he is due to host an honors ceremony. Asked for an update on the Ukraine peace talks, which have accelerated in the last week, Trump aired out his dissatisfaction with Zelensky.
“I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal. That was as of a few hours ago,” he said. “His people love it, but he hasn’t [read it].”
Trump also said he believes Russia’s “fine” with the plan, though added they would “rather have the whole country” of Ukraine.
“But I’m not sure that Zelensky’s fine with it. His people love it, but he hasn’t read it. So, someday you’ll explain that one to me,” the president added.
Trump’s comments are surprising given that negotiations between U.S. and Ukrainian delegations in Florida last week were described positively by both sides.
But Zelensky has been absent from those meetings, while simultaneously underscoring the importance of in-person negotiations.
The Ukrainian delegation in the marathon peace talks last week included his defense minister, Rustem Umerov, and chief of general staff, Andrii Hnatov. The United States, meanwhile, has been represented by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff, both of whom met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
UKRAINE HIT BY ‘MASSIVE’ HOURS AFTER US-ZELENSKY CALL
The five-hour talks with Russia appeared to yield little progress, with a Putin aide saying “some American proposals are acceptable to Russia, while others are not.”
Zelensky has yet to respond to Trump’s latest remarks about the peace proposal.
