Russia and Putin · Second term · № 92
Told Ukraine "you should have never started it" after U.S.-Russia talks held without Kyiv
“But today I heard, "Oh, well, we weren't invited." Well, you've been there for 3 years. You should have ended it 3 years—you should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”
- Said
- , Mar-a-Lago Club, Palm Beach, Florida
- Subject
- Riyadh talks
- Type
- Ukraine
- Topic
- Ukraine & Russia
- Era
- Second term
What happened
On February 18, 2025, delegations led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ukraine's leaders were not invited, and President Volodymyr Zelensky had said his country would not accept the outcome of negotiations held without it. The two sides agreed to re-staff their embassies and to appoint high-level teams to work on ending the war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Speaking at Mar-a-Lago that afternoon, Trump said he was "much more confident" of a deal, said Zelensky was "down at 4 percent approval rating" and called for an election in Ukraine, adding, "That's not a Russia thing." CBS News reported that a recent poll showed 57% of Ukrainians trusted Zelensky. On April 14, 2025, Trump said "Putin should have never started it" and "Everybody's to blame."
Sources
- Remarks Following a Document Signing Ceremony and an Exchange With Reporters in Palm Beach, Florida
- U.S., Russia agree to "begin working on a path" to end Ukraine war, in meeting in Saudi Arabia with no Ukrainians
- Trump calls Zelenskyy a "dictator" after blaming Ukraine for Russia's invasion
- Trump echoes Russia as he flips US position on Ukraine
- Remarks Prior to a Meeting With President Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez of El Salvador and an Exchange With Reporters