'Not very pleasant' — Zelensky comments on Trump calling Putin first
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 13 it "was not very pleasant" that U.S. President Donald Trump first held a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin before calling Zelensky, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
A day earlier, Trump held separate calls with Zelensky and Putin, later claiming both leaders "want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the war with Russia/Ukraine."
Zelensky and Trump agreed to begin working toward ending the war, according to Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's Presidential Office.
Zelensky described the conversation with his U.S. counterpart as "good." He said that Trump didn't tell him that "Putin and Russia were a priority."
"Today we trust these words. It is very important for us to maintain the support of the United States," Zelensky added.
"I don't perceive this call as it was a priority that he (Trump) talked to Russia first. Although it's not very pleasant in any case because you know how Ukrainian society, Europeans react: nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine."
According to Zelensky, Kyiv's priority is the Ukraine-U.S. meeting, as well as the development of a plan "to stop Putin."
"I think it's only fair to talk to the Russians after that," the president said, adding that he wants European partners to be involved in negotiations.
Previously, Trump announced that he and Putin would hold their first in-person meeting in Saudi Arabia, though the extent of Ukraine's involvement in the talks remains unclear.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Feb. 13 that Russia has started forming a group for talks with the U.S., including on the war with Ukraine.
Following Trump's talks with Zelensky and Putin, Kaja Kallas, the EU's top diplomat, reaffirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity, saying that Europe must have a "central role" in any negotiations.
Olena Goncharova
