President Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday (February 19), telling a conference in Florida that the Ukrainian leader has done a terrible job and could have come to talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia if he had wanted to, Reuters reports.
Trump said he hoped for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine soon.
US President said he thinks he can 'resurrect' the critical mineral deal with Ukraine and the US can 'make a deal' with Russia to stop the war.
He made those comments at a gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday night.
He said, "I think I can resurrect it or, you know, we'll see what happens, but I'm going to resurrect it or things are not going to make him too happy."
Donald Trump says he believes Russia has "the cards" in any peace talks to end the war in Ukraine because they have "taken a lot of territory".
The US president told the BBC he trusted that Moscow wants to see an end to the war.
Ukraine and European governments were not invited to Tuesday's (February 18) talks in the Saudi capital, which magnified their concern that Russia and the U.S. might cut a deal that ignores their vital security interests.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of being a "dictator", and warned he had to move quickly to secure peace or risk losing his country, deepening a feud between the two leaders that has alarmed European officials.
Zelenskiy's five-year term was supposed to end in 2024, but presidential and parliamentary elections cannot be held under martial law, which Ukraine imposed in February 2022 in response to Russia's invasion.
