President Donald Trump said on Monday it is “time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine,” his sharpest public rebuke yet of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as their dispute over US policy toward Russia deepens.
Trump made the remarks to reporters on the South Lawn before leaving the White House for a campaign rally in Kansas. He was responding to Zelenskyy’s statement that the US president is on the “wrong side of history” over Washington’s approach to peace talks.
“Zelensky doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Trump said. “Zelenskyy is a man that should have had this war settled a long time ago. If he would have listened to me, he would have made a much better deal a long time ago.”
The exchange follows Trump’s executive order late on Oct. 16 waiving new congressionally mandated sanctions on Russia, a move that drew criticism from some Republicans who said it hands Moscow a win. Trump has defended the decision, arguing it keeps Russia at the negotiating table.
Asked about reports that Ukraine lost access to Starshield, the military version of SpaceX’s satellite network, and to US intelligence warnings, Trump said he did not know who ordered the slowdown. “I don’t know who it was, but I’d like to find out,” he said.
Trump also said he is open to meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping when he travels to China in November, though he downplayed the likelihood of a formal three-way summit.
Source: Washington Examiner
