2026-02-18 20:55
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2026-02-18 20:55
This whole situation is unfair, including for American taxpayers, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday, responding to complaints from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding what he considers to be an unfair US attitude – putting pressure mainly on Ukraine in negotiations with Russia.
The president's spokeswoman dismissed Tuesday's remarks by the Ukrainian president, who said in an interview for Axios that it was “not fair” that President Trump was publicly calling for concessions from Ukraine and not Russia.
– I think what the president (Trump) would respond to this is that he doesn't think it's fair that thousands of Ukrainians are dying in this deadly war. That's why the president and his team have committed enormous amounts of time and energy trying to end this war that is very far from the United States of America, Leavitt said during a White House briefing. She recalled that another round of trilateral negotiations took place in Geneva on Tuesday and that another round would follow.
“The president finds this entire situation very unfair, not only for the Russians and Ukrainians who lost their lives, but also for the American taxpayers who footed the bill for this war effort until President Trump put an end to it,” she added. She also recalled that the US continues to sell weapons to NATO countries, which then transfer them to Ukraine.
According to the Axios website, during the talks in Geneva, Russian negotiators, led by former Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky, made maximalist demands, which caused the talks to “stuck”. Nevertheless, in recent days, President Trump has argued that Russia is ready to conclude the deal and that Ukraine is an obstacle.
Summarizing Tuesday's talks in Geneva, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that they did not bring a satisfactory result.
– The military talked about some of the issues seriously and substantively. Sensitive political issues, possible compromises and the necessary meeting of leaders have not yet been sufficiently developed, Zelensky admitted.
He emphasized that it was important that representatives of European countries participated in the talks – France, Great Britain, Germany and Italy, as well as Switzerland as the host party.
– It is we in Ukraine who always promote the position that Europe should be a participant in the process, said the president, thanking the American side “for making this position heard.”
From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)
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