“He's not ready.” Trump criticizes Zelensky, after three days of intense negotiations on the peace plan for Ukraine
“I think Russia agrees with (the plan), but I'm not sure Zelensky agrees with it. His people love him. But he's not ready,” the White House leader said on Sunday, according to Reuters and The Guardian.
Donald Trump said Sunday night that Volodymyr Zelenskiy is “not ready” to sign the peace plan drawn up by the US to end the war in Ukraine.
The US president's statement came at the end of three days of negotiations between Washington and Kiev in Florida.
“I'm a little disappointed that President Zelenskiy hasn't read the proposal that was presented a few hours ago. His people love it, but he doesn't,” Trump said during a call with reporters.
Moreover, the White House leader expressed confidence that Moscow would also accept the negotiated peace agreement.
“I think Russia agrees with (the plan), but I'm not sure Zelensky agrees with it. His people love him. But he's not ready,” Trump said.
Zelenski meets Steimer, Macron and Merz in London
Three days of talks between US and Ukrainian officials ended on Saturday with no apparent progress, with Zelenskiy calling the talks “constructive, though not easy”.
Trump's comments come as Zelenskiy is set to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the leaders of France and Germany in London on Monday, with discussions to focus on continuing negotiations between the US and Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not publicly expressed his agreement with the White House's plan and said last week that certain aspects of Trump's proposal were impossible to implement.
A peace agreement in Ukraine is “very close”, announces Trump's emissary / Moscow says, however, that it wants “radical changes” to the US plan
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Putin in the Kremlin last week but failed to make any apparent progress.
Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov was quoted by Russian media on Sunday as saying that the United States would have to “make serious, I would say radical, changes in its documents” regarding Ukraine.
He did not specify what changes Moscow wants Washington to make.
“American representatives know the basic positions of Ukraine”
The US plan has gone through several versions since it first appeared in November, drawing criticism for being too lenient with Russia.
Despite continued efforts by Trump and his team to broker a deal, progress in peace talks has been slow, with disputes over security guarantees for Kiev and the status of territory occupied by Russia remaining unresolved.
“American representatives know the basic positions of Ukraine,” Zelenskiy said in his video speech on Sunday night.
Zelenskiy said on Saturday that he had a “substantial telephone conversation” with US officials involved in the talks with the Ukrainian delegation in Florida. He said he was briefed by phone by U.S. and Ukrainian officials who attended the talks.
“Ukraine is determined to continue cooperating in good faith with the American side to achieve real peace,” Zelensky wrote on social media.
Donald Trump Jr threatens to end war support for Ukraine
Trump's criticism of Zelenskiy came as Russia on Sunday welcomed the Trump administration's new national security strategy. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the updated strategic document, which lays out the administration's main foreign policy interests, is largely in line with Moscow's vision.
The document released by the White House on Friday shows the US wants to improve relations with Russia and accuses European officials of obstructing US efforts to end the war in Ukraine, saying governments are ignoring a “vast European majority” that wants peace.
Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, told a defense forum on Saturday that the administration's efforts to end the war are in the “last 10 yards.” He said there are two unresolved issues: the territory and the fate of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant
Kellogg is considered one of the US officials closest to the cause of Kiev, but is due to leave his post in January.
Many others in Trump's entourage, including Witkoff, have been much more open to taking positions close to those of Russia.
Trump's son, Donald Jr, told a forum in Doha on Sunday that Zelenskiy was deliberately continuing the conflict out of fear that he would lose power if it ended. He suggested that the US would stop helping Kiev in the war.
