Trump Dismisses Ukraine's Concerns; Possible Meeting with Putin in the Coming Days

The President of the United States announced that he is likely to meet with Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart, later this month, and dismissed Ukraine's concerns about the absence of its representatives in negotiations between the U.S. and Russia in Riyadh as "irrelevant." Donald Trump stated on Tuesday, February 18 (Bahman 30) at the end of a press conference in Florida, in response to a question about whether he still expects to meet Mr. Putin by the end of this month, saying: "Probably." Hours earlier, Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, who traveled to Riyadh to negotiate with his Russian counterpart regarding the Ukraine war, stated in a press conference that the parties have not yet set a date for the Trump-Putin meeting. The Riyadh talks are considered the first direct negotiations between U.S. and Russian officials since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, Trump rejected the issue of Ukraine being sidelined from these negotiations, stating that Kyiv should have reached an agreement with Russia three years ago to avoid Moscow's aggression. Rubio, after negotiating with Russia, said that all parties must compromise to end the Ukraine war. The U.S. President remarked: "Today I heard that they said we were not invited. Well, you had three years. You should have finished it... You shouldn't have started it at all. You could have reached an agreement." Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, criticized the holding of negotiations between the U.S. and Russia without Ukraine's presence, stating that the talks between Russian and American representatives are being held "without Ukraine." Mr. Zelensky also postponed his planned trip to Saudi Arabia, scheduled for Wednesday, March 1, by about three weeks in response to these negotiations. He stated: "We do not want anyone to make decisions for us without us... No decision can be made to end the war in Ukraine without Ukraine." Nevertheless, Donald Trump emphasized in his remarks on Tuesday that he believes he has the power to end this war. The U.S. President also stated that Ukraine should hold elections. According to him, "This is no longer a matter for Russia to say, but it is my statement, and many other countries are saying it too." The Trump administration had previously emphasized that Ukraine must hold presidential and parliamentary elections, which have been postponed due to the war with Russia, by the end of this year. Since the beginning of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, Washington has been Ukraine's most important ally, and after Donald Trump's presidency began, Kyiv has been trying to get closer to his administration, including proposing U.S. participation in the development of Ukraine's mineral reserves. Trump has been critical of the substantial financial and military aid provided by Joe Biden's administration to Kyiv, stating that the U.S. will recoup the costs incurred in that country.