▲ Trump and Zelensky
U.S. President Donald Trump argued on October 19 (local time) that someone other than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should take charge of negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Meeting with reporters at the White House that day, President Trump said, "Perhaps it is time for Zelenskyy to put someone else up to negotiate."
Trump's remarks came in response to criticism from President Zelenskyy, who slammed Trump for withholding the implementation of anti-Russia sanctions and agreeing to a transit deal allowing Russia to export Russian oil, stating that Trump was "standing on the wrong side of history."
President Trump stated, "Zelenskyy doesn't know what he's talking about. Zelenskyy should have ended this war long ago," adding, "If he had listened to me, he would have made a much better deal a long time ago, and a million Ukrainians would still be alive."
He then stated, "Frankly, I think it's time for someone else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine."
This implies that Zelenskyy needs to step aside for the sake of ending the war, echoing Trump's recent counterattack against Zelenskyy's criticism in which he said, "I think Ukraine is due for a new president."
President Trump remarked, "Zelenskyy, frankly, is not very helpful. In my opinion, he doesn't seem to want to stop the war, but I want people to stop dying."
When asked whether he agreed to hold a trilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Ukraine on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in Shenzhen, China, in November, Trump replied, "I haven't agreed to it, but I would gladly do it."
He added, "Not for Ukraine. Frankly, Russia has been fine to Ukraine. Russia hasn't done much, and neither has China."
Regarding whether he would discuss ending the war in the trilateral meeting while excluding President Zelenskyy, Trump said, "I will do whatever it takes to end the war, whether someone is there or not."
However, President Trump explained that the trilateral meeting is focused on "denuclearization discussions."
He stated, "I am going to China in November to discuss denuclearization, so they (Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin) want to meet based on my proposal," adding, "If we achieve denuclearization, I will have done a great thing for the world."
He also mentioned, "If President Xi Jinping wants it, I will have the meeting."
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