by Admin
Feb 20, 2025
The United States President Donald Trump has stated that Russia holds the upper hand in any potential peace negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, citing Moscow’s territorial gains since the start of the conflict.
Speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One, President Trump expressed confidence that Russia is interested in ending the war, which it initiated with a full-scale invasion nearly three years ago.
“I think the Russians want to see the war end, I do. I think they have the cards a little bit because they’ve taken a lot of territory. They have the cards,” Trump said. When asked if he believed Russia genuinely sought peace, he responded, “I do.”
His remarks followed a speech at a Saudi-backed investment forum in Florida, where he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator” for the second time in a day.
President Trump’s comments came in response to Zelensky’s criticism of the U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, from which Kyiv was excluded. The Ukrainian leader had accused Trump of “living in a disinformation space” controlled by Moscow.
President Trump has repeatedly attacked Zelensky’s leadership, claiming the Ukrainian president has stifled democracy by postponing elections. “He refuses to have elections. He’s low in the real Ukrainian polls. How can you be high with every city being demolished?” Trump said during his Florida speech.
President Zelensky’s five-year term was set to expire in May 2024, but Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia’s 2022 invasion, leading to the suspension of elections.
Despite President Trump’s claims about his unpopularity, Prodesq Verify reports that recent polling indicates 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelensky’s leadership.
President Trump’s “dictator” remark quickly drew backlash from European leaders.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the statement “simply wrong and dangerous,” while United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer reaffirmed his support for Zelensky in a phone call with the Ukrainian president.
President Trump blames Ukraine for the war, saying, “You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.” In response, Zelensky dismissed the statement, accusing Russia of spreading falsehoods about the conflict.
“With all due respect to President Donald Trump as a leader… he is living in this disinformation space,” Zelensky said.
As tensions rise over Ukraine’s exclusion from key diplomatic talks, Trump’s comments add further complexity to the already strained relations between Kyiv and Washington.