Zelensky says Trump snub ‘not pleasant’ after president called Putin first to talk ending Ukraine war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his displeasure that the tycoon spoke to the Russian leader first and said he would not accept any deal made to end the war without Ukraine's participation.
Following the exchange between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was "not very happy" that the American tycoon spoke first to the Kremlin leader and that he is seeking to agree a plan with Washington in line with Europe to stop Putin before there are talks with Moscow to end the conflict.
Zelensky recently announced that he had spoken with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk about the call he had with Trump to "achieve successful results for the whole of Europe." He said they discussed "the necessary conditions for a real and lasting peace in Ukraine" and agreed that "negotiations with Putin cannot begin without a united position of Ukraine, Europe and the United States."
"I stressed that Ukraine must negotiate from a position of strength, with solid and reliable security guarantees, and that NATO membership would be the most profitable option for its partners," he wrote on his X account. He also called on world leaders not to trust Putin's willingness to end the war.
"Contacts between Ukraine and the United States are a priority for us. And only after that, and after a plan to stop Putin has been put in place, I think it will be good to talk to the Russians," Zelensky said, the day after Trump held separate contacts, first with the Russian president and then with the Ukrainian one, which the latter described as a "not very nice" gesture.
Russian officials and state media struck a triumphant tone Thursday after President Donald Trump scrapped three years of U.S. policy and announced he would likely meet soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate a peace deal in the nearly three-year war in Ukraine. For his part, Zelensky said he would not accept any negotiations on Ukraine that did not include his country in the talks. European governments also demanded a seat at the table.
Trump's change of stance appeared to identify Putin as the only actor who matters in ending the fighting and seemed willing to sideline Zelensky and European governments in any peace negotiations. The Ukrainian president recently described this prospect as "very dangerous."
Trump's announcement has sparked a diplomatic uproar that could mark a defining moment for Ukraine and Europe.
In his first comments to reporters since Trump held personal talks first with Putin and then with Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader said the main thing was "not to let everything go according to Putin's plan."
"As an independent country, we cannot accept any agreement that has not been signed with us. "I am telling our partners very clearly: we will not agree to any bilateral negotiations on Ukraine, or on any other issues, but no bilateral negotiations on Ukraine without us," Zelensky said during his visit to a nuclear power plant in western Ukraine.
Zelensky said that during his conversation with Trump on Wednesday, the US president told him he wanted to speak with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders at the same time. "At no point in the conversation did he mention that Putin and Russia were a priority. Today we trust his words. It is very important for us to maintain the support of the United States," Zelensky said.
Russia welcomes Putin's leadership role
"For us, the position of the current US administration is much more attractive," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
"The presidents of Russia and the United States have finally spoken. This is very important in itself," said Deputy Chairman of the Russian National Security Council Dmitry Medvedev in a statement.
Deputy Alexei Pushkov said the call "will go down in the history of world politics and diplomacy." "I am sure that people in kyiv, Brussels, Paris and London are now reading with horror Trump's lengthy statement about his conversation with Putin and cannot believe their eyes," Pushkov wrote on his messaging app.
"The United States has finally seriously damaged Zelensky," Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said in an opinion piece, adding that Trump had found "common ground" with Putin. "This means that the formula 'nothing on Ukraine without Ukraine', a sacred cow for Zelensky, the European Union and the previous US administration, no longer exists. Moreover, the opinion of kyiv and Brussels is of no interest to Trump at all," he added.
Alarm bells ringing in Europe and NATO
Trump appears willing to reach an agreement without going through Ukraine or European governments. It also dashed Ukraine's hopes of joining NATO, which the alliance described less than a year ago as an "irreversible" step, or of regaining parts of its territory, estimated to account for around 20% of the country and so far held by the Russian military.
The U.S. administration's strategy for a possible deal is remarkably close to Moscow's vision of how the war should end, sparking alarm and tension in the 32-nation NATO alliance and the 27-nation European Union.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has reaffirmed the bloc's commitment to protecting Ukraine following the political setback caused by Trump's call to Putin. "We have work to do to ensure the Alliance remains strong. This means increasing defense spending, increasing production, and Europe doing more to support Ukraine," he wrote on social media X.
Some European governments fear their countries could also be in the Kremlin's crosshairs and have expressed alarm at Washington's new direction and said they should be part of the negotiations.
"Ukraine, Europe and the United States should work together on this. Together," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media on Wednesday. Others opposed Trump's proposals and undermined his optimistic vision.
"Just as Putin has no intention of stopping hostilities even during possible negotiations, we must maintain Western unity and increase support for Ukraine, as well as political and economic pressure on Russia," said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna. "Our actions must demonstrate that we will not change course," he added.