19.02.2025 08:01
U.S. President Donald Trump responded to a question about why Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not invited to the U.S.-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia by saying, "I heard today that they are saying 'We were not invited.' You have been there for 3 years; you should have ended this 3 years ago. You should never have started it. You could have made a deal earlier."
US President Donald Trump held a press conference to evaluate the developments in the Russia-Ukraine war and the ceasefire process. Trump stated that the talks in Saudi Arabia started well and he hopes the process will go smoothly, mentioning that hundreds of thousands of soldiers have died in the war and it needs to end now.
BLAMED THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
During the meeting, Trump blamed the previous Joe Biden administration, providing an explanation for why Ukraine was not invited to the US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia. He argued that Ukraine had the opportunity to end the war earlier but chose to continue it with the support of the Joe Biden administration, saying, "Today I heard they are saying 'we were not invited.' You have been there for three years; you should have ended this three years ago. You should never have started. You could have made a deal earlier. I could have made a deal for Ukraine that would have given them almost all of their land. But they chose not to do it that way. And President Biden has no idea how wrong he has acted in this regard. It's very bad and sad."
"IT WAS A WAR THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE STARTED"
Not providing a clear assessment regarding Russia as the cause of the war, Trump claimed that both Biden and Zelensky opened the door to a war that "should never have started" due to their weak leadership.
"I AM IN FAVOR OF A EUROPEAN PEACE FORCE"
On the other hand, Trump expressed his support for the possibility of European peacekeeping troops being stationed in Ukraine as part of a peace plan that some European leaders support while others remain neutral. In response to how he views the idea of European peacekeeping troops being stationed in Ukraine, Trump said, "If they want to do it, that's great. I'm in favor of it. If they want to do it, that would be good."
Recalling that countries like France and England have mentioned this idea, Trump stated, "If we make a peace agreement, I think we won't need to send troops there from Europe because we are very far away, but it would be good to have troops there. I have no objection to that." He noted that he knows France is particularly willing to do this, stating that such a step would be "a nice gesture."
"UKRAINIAN CITIES LOOK LIKE GAZA"
Stating that war laws are still in effect in Ukraine, Trump mentioned that there have been no elections in the country for a long time and that the public is not very satisfied with Zelensky.
Trump said, "It has been a long time since elections were held. This is not about Russia. This thought comes from me and many other countries. The cities in Ukraine literally look like Gaza. People are tired of this. People want to see something happening." In response to a question, Trump stated that he has no intention of withdrawing US troops from Europe.