“At the request of the American side, the format of the meeting provides for protocol filming and does not include statements or questions,” Zelenskyy’s spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov told reporters.
In the US, Trump’s top security adviser said Zelenskyy’s criticism of the US President was “unacceptable” and urged him to sign a deal giving preferential access to Ukraine’s critical minerals and natural resources.
“We’re getting all this pushback ... they need to tone it down and take a hard look and sign that deal,” National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told Fox News.
‘They have the cards’
Under former US President Joe Biden, the US lauded Zelenskyy as a hero and hammered Moscow with sanctions as Ukraine battled against advancing Russian troops.
But Trump has been critical of Zelenskyy, claiming he has subverted democracy and blaming him for starting the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago.
“I think the Russians want to see the war end ... But I think they have the cards a little bit, because they’ve taken a lot of territory, so they have the cards,” Trump told reporters.
“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.
Zelenskyy was elected in 2019 for a five-year term and has remained leader in line with Ukrainian rules under martial law, imposed as his country fights for its survival.
While Zelenskyy’s popularity has fallen, the percentage of Ukrainians who trust him has never dipped below 50% since the conflict started, according to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).
Shock at Trump attack
Trump’s invective drew shock reactions from Europe.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was “wrong and dangerous” to call Zelenskyy a dictator.
And in Washington, Trump’s former Vice-President Mike Pence also issued a stinging rebuke.
“Mr President, Ukraine did not ‘start’ this war. Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion claiming hundreds of thousands of lives,” he wrote on X.
“Ukraine is a democracy, [President Vladimir] Putin’s Russia is not,” European Union spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker said.
In contrast, the Kremlin hailed Trump’s comments. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it “absolutely” agreed with Trump after he urged Zelenskyy to “move fast” to end the conflict.
Both sides are trying to improve their situation on the battlefield amid Trump’s push for a ceasefire.
Russian aerial attacks on the east Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka killed four people on Thursday, the national police said.
Moscow buoyed
Moscow has been buoyed by its rapprochement with Washington and Trump’s attacks on Zelenskyy.
Kyiv was not invited to the Riyadh talks as Moscow and Washington moved to sideline both Ukraine and Europe.
Putin said US allies “only have themselves to blame for what’s happening,” suggesting they were paying the price for opposing Trump’s return to the White House.
Tensions between Zelenskyy and Trump over the new US position on the war had been building for weeks.
But Zelenskyy struck a more positive tone ahead of his meeting with Kellogg, saying “it is very important for us that the meeting and our work with America in general be constructive”.
“Together with America and Europe, peace can be more reliable, and this is our goal,” he added.
Russia, which for years has railed against the US military presence in Europe, wants a reorganisation of the continent’s security framework as part of any deal to end the Ukraine fighting.
- Agence France-Presse
