Trump Blames Ukraine for War, Criticises Zelensky Over Saudi Peace Talks Exclusion

• Trump says Ukraine “could have made a deal” to avoid war.
• US and Russia agree to begin negotiations in Saudi Arabia.
• Moscow rejects NATO peacekeepers in any future settlement.

U.S. President Donald Trump has taken aim at Ukraine following remarks from its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who expressed surprise that Kyiv was not invited to Saudi-hosted peace talks aimed at ending the ongoing war.

Speaking at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said he was “disappointed” by Ukraine’s reaction and appeared to suggest that Kyiv was responsible for the war, asserting that the conflict “could have been avoided” if Ukraine had struck a deal with Russia.

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The war, which erupted nearly three years ago, was triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, Trump’s comments seemingly ignored Moscow’s role as the aggressor.

His remarks came shortly after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Moscow would not accept the deployment of NATO peacekeeping forces in Ukraine under any potential peace agreement. Lavrov’s comments followed discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Saudi Arabia, where Washington and Moscow agreed to form negotiation teams to explore a path toward ending the war.

When asked by a BBC reporter what message he had for Ukrainians who might feel betrayed by his stance, Trump dismissed concerns, saying, “I hear that they’re upset about not having a seat. Well, they’ve had a seat for three years and a long time before that. This could have been settled very easily.”

He doubled down on his claims, adding: “You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”

The former president then insisted that, had he been in power, he could have brokered an agreement that would have preserved Ukraine’s territorial integrity while avoiding war. “I could have made a deal for Ukraine,” he claimed. “That would have given them almost all of the land—everything, almost all of the land—and no people would have been killed, no city would have been destroyed.”

Following the high-level discussions between U.S. and Russian officials in Riyadh, Trump expressed renewed optimism about the prospects for peace. “They were very good. Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the savage barbarianism,” he said, adding, “I think I have the power to end this war.”

Regarding speculation that European nations might send troops to support Ukraine, Trump signaled indifference. “If they want to do that, that’s great. I’m all for it,” he said.

The Riyadh meeting marked the first known direct engagement between American and Russian delegations since the onset of the full-scale war. Among the key figures present were U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, alongside Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund.

After the talks, Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s firm opposition to NATO’s involvement in any future settlement. “Any appearance by armed forces under some other flag does not change anything. It is, of course, completely unacceptable,” he stated.

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Lavrov also announced that Washington and Moscow had agreed to reappoint ambassadors to each other’s capitals and work toward restoring diplomatic cooperation. “It was a very useful conversation. We listened to each other, and we heard each other,” he said.

At the same time, he reaffirmed Russia’s long-standing position that NATO’s expansion, particularly Ukraine’s potential membership, represented a “direct threat” to Russian security.

For his part, Rubio struck a more cautious tone, acknowledging that the road to peace would be difficult. “There have to be concessions made by all sides. We’re not going to predetermine what those are,” he said. “Today is the first step of a long and difficult journey, but an important one.”

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