US President Donald Trump has intensified his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he has done a terrible job and that he could have participated in talks taking place this week between the United States and Russia in Saudi Arabia if he wanted to.
Trump made the comments at a meeting in Miami with business leaders from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, following other harsh comments toward Zelensky.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Zelensky is a "dictator without an election" and warned that he "better act quickly, or he will be left without a country."
In his speech in Miami, he assessed that Zelensky is misusing American aid allocated for war, and that he has exploited the administration of former US President Joe Biden.
These comments appear to be a response to Zelensky's criticism that Trump "lives in his own disinformation space" fueled by Moscow.
"We have seen these disinformation," Zelensky said on February 19. "We understand that this comes from Russia."
Zelensky made the comments after Trump blamed him for Russia's war in Ukraine, saying he was "disappointed" that Zelensky had complained about not being invited to talks between the US and Russia to end the war.
Zelensky has reiterated his concerns about talks held in Saudi Arabia to end the war that began almost three years ago.
He said that the high-level talks between the US and Russia in Riyadh were aimed at "bringing [Russian President Vladimir] Putin out of isolation" and that all of this could result in changes in geopolitical dynamics that would affect Ukraine's security.
"The United States has helped Putin come out of isolation... Putin and the Russians are very happy about this," Zelensky said.
Zelensky said that Ukraine was not invited to the meetings in Riyadh.
But Trump told reporters on February 19 that the Russians "have taken a lot of territory and they hold the cards" in negotiations to end the war.
Trump, who has pushed forward the initiative for the Riyadh meeting as part of efforts to end the war, has also been critical of the failure to hold elections in Ukraine.
Ukraine has not been able to hold elections because it is in a state of war, which was declared when Russia launched the war in February 2022.
Zelensky's five-year term is due to end in May 2024, while Putin has said he would not negotiate with the Ukrainian president because he does not have the authority to sign peace agreements.
Some members of the US Congress have said that Trump's comments have been harsh on the thousands of Ukrainians who have died in the war.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said Trump "has thrown away the truth and the sacrifice of the brave men and women who are fighting for their freedom and ours. Their fight is our fight, and the president's surrender is pathetic and weak."
The other Democratic senator, Chris Coons, has said that other Republicans in the Senate know that Putin is not our partner.
He said that Trump risks becoming "the biggest loser of the 21st century if he does not demand that Putin end the war, threatening him with sanctions or sending more weapons to Ukraine."
Trump's comments have also been criticized by European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
Scholz called the accusation of Zelensky as a dictator "wrong and dangerous," while Baerbock said that the people in Europe who live "under dictatorial conditions" are in Russia and Belarus.
US Vice President JD Vance warned on February 19 that Zelensky's criticism of Trump would get him into trouble.
"Zelensky thinks he's going to change the president's mind by publicly speaking ill of him, but everyone knows the president will tell him that's a cruel way to deal with this administration," Vance said./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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