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Donald Trump said on Saturday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin wants to reach an agreement regarding the war with Ukraine, accusing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of not wanting to do so.
Trump told reporters, "Russia wants to make a deal... but, for some reason, Zelenskyy does not want to make a deal." Speaking about a phone call he had with Putin on Friday, he added, "President Putin very much wants to reach a settlement."
Trump criticized the Ukrainian president for not holding elections since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, saying, "I think he should have held elections, and he could have resolved this matter on several occasions."
Trump and Zelenskyy exchanged sharp criticism on Saturday following Washington's move to ease sanctions imposed on Russian diesel.
Trump announced on Friday that he had spoken with Putin and agreed with him to allow Moscow to release large quantities of diesel into global markets.
Ukraine and its European allies expressed their dissatisfaction with this move, with Zelenskyy describing it in statements to reporters on Friday as a "weak decision."
When asked on Saturday about these criticisms, Trump told reporters that Zelenskyy disobeyed his orders not to strike Russian oil refineries. He pointed out that these strikes exacerbate the global fuel shortage caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
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