President Donald Trump spoke about Ukraine after Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky was surprised that the country was not invited to participate in talks between Russia and the US in Saudi Arabia on ending the 3-year conflict.
On February 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh in the first direct high-level talks between the two countries since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out. The parties agreed to establish groups to begin negotiations on a peaceful end to the conflict.
According to the BBC, Donald Trump said he was disappointed with Ukraine's response and said Ukraine could have reached an agreement sooner.
During a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago palace, BBC asked President Trump about his message to Ukrainians who are not invited to attend the Russia-US talks in Riyadh.
"I heard they were disappointed not being able to participate. In fact, they have been there for the past 3 years and even longer. This could easily be solved," said Donald Trump.
The US leader added: "You shouldn't have started this. The two sides have reached an agreement."
President Donald Trump affirmed: "I can reach a deal for Ukraine. That would give them almost all of their land and no one would be killed, no city would be destroyed."
After a meeting of US-Russia officials in Riyadh, Mr. Trump said he was "more confident". "I think I have enough strength to end this war," he added.
When asked about the prospect of European countries sending troops to Ukraine, Mr. Trump shared: "When asked about the possibility of European countries sending troops to Ukraine, Mr. Trump said: "If they want to do so, I fully support it. I think that's okay. I know France and some other countries, including the UK, have mentioned this." However, he stressed that the US would not participate because "we are far away".
