Trump says ‘we hope to see a ceasefire soon’ in Ukraine

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump took aim once again at his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he has “done a terrible job” on dealing with the war with Russia.

"I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job. His country is shattered, and millions and millions of people have unnecessarily died, and you can't bring a war to an end if you don't talk to both sides. You got to talk. They haven't been talking for three years.

"So we hope to see a ceasefire soon, and to reestablish stability in Europe and the Middle East," Trump said at a foreign investment summit in Miami.

He said Zelenskyy was "very upset" that he wasn't invited to talks between the US and Russia in Saudi Arabia.

"He could have come if he wanted to," he added.

Tension has risen between Washington and Kyiv after Zelenskyy accused Trump of living in a Russian "space of disinformation."

Trump called Zelenskyy a "modestly successful comedian" who "talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and ‘TRUMP,’ will never be able to settle."

"A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump told the investors that Saudi Arabia did "such a great job" this week in hosting the US and particularly thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for hosting "these historic talks."

The talks "really went well. It's a big step. We got to get that war over with," he added, noting that the US is "successfully" negotiating an end to the war with Russia.

The talks between Russia and the US in Saudi Arabia were organized to address issues of mending relations, resolving the conflict in Ukraine and preparing a meeting between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.