Trump said Zelensky is “very difficult to deal with” and that he is “harder to deal with than Putin.” Also, in his opinion, the head of the Kremlin has shown that he is currently not afraid of Europe or the US European NATO allies.
In a conversation with Rule, she said, “Trump expressed more confidence in Putin than in any of the United States’ European allies.”
The head of the White House has also recently sharply criticized the Alliance, in particular for its reluctance to help the United States in the confrontation with Iran. In a post on Truth Social today, he called NATO without the United States is a “paper tiger” and its allies are “cowards.”
Context
Since 2025, Washington has been negotiating with Kiev and Moscow to end the Russian-Ukrainian war, in particular, the Trump administration presented a draft “peace plan.” The first round of negotiations between the delegations of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the United States in Abu Dhabi took place on January 23 and 24. The next round is on February 4th and 5th.
On February 17-18, delegations from the United States, Ukraine and Russia held talks in Geneva, which focused on “practical issues and the mechanics of possible solutions.”
On February 28, Bloomberg wrote that Russia could stop “peace negotiations” if Ukraine does not agree to cede part of the unoccupied territory of the Donetsk region.
On March 3, Zelensky said that he agreed with the US proposal to freeze the front line to stop hostilities, but Russia insists on the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbass. According to him, the exchange of territories does not meet the interests of Ukraine, and American security guarantees are possible only within the framework of an agreement with Russia.
On March 5 he “expressed disappointment” in Zelensky, saying that Putin is “ready to conclude an agreement.” The next round of negotiations was planned to be held from March 5 to 9 in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). However, there has been a war in the Middle East since February 28th.
