US President Donald Trump held a briefing at his Mar-a-Lago residence, during which he made several statements regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Commenting on Kyiv’s statements that Ukraine was not invited to negotiations, Trump said that Ukraine “was there for three years and should have ended the war” during that time.
“You shouldn’t have started it. You could have made a deal and agreed to Moscow’s terms to avoid an invasion,” the president said.
Trump also said presidential elections should be held in Ukraine since Zelensky’s approval rating is 4%.
“Ukraine needs elections if it wants to sit at the negotiating table,” he stressed.
The US president said he would meet with Putin by the end of February. The meeting is likely to take place in Saudi Arabia.
According to Trump, the United States “would not be at all opposed” to the deployment of European peacekeepers in Ukraine: “If they want to do it, that’s great. I’m totally in favor of it,” he noted.
