Russia holds 'the cards' in peace talks, Trump told the BBC.

 

Donald Trump says he believes Russia has "the cards" in any peace talks to end the war in Ukraine because they have "taken a lot of territory".

The US president told the BBC he trusted that Moscow wants to see an end to the war, which Russia started when it waged a full-scale invasion almost three years ago.


Trump was flying back to Washington DC after speaking at a Saudi-backed investment meeting in Florida, where he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" for the second time in a day.

Trump has been angered after Zelensky, reacting to US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia from which Kyiv was excluded, said the US president was "living in a disinformation space" governed by Moscow.

"I genuinely believe that the Russians want the war to end. They've taken a lot of territory, therefore I believe they have some cards. On Air Force One, Trump told the BBC, "They have the cards."

Trump responded "I do" when asked if he believes that Russia wants peace.


He was speaking only hours after Trump used the same term in a Truth Social post, calling the Ukrainian president a "dictator" in a tirade against Zelensky in Florida.

Trump's post was a direct response to Zelensky's "disinformation" remarks, according to a White House official.

He opposes holding elections. According to actual Ukrainian polls, he is low. Given that every city is being destroyed, how can you be high? In Florida, Trump remarked.


Zelensky was scheduled to leave office in May 2024 after a five-year term. However, since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the country has been under martial law, and elections have been halted.

Trump has made an effort to politicise Zelensky's popularity by asserting that the Ukrainian president's approval rating was just 4%. However, according to BBC Verify, 57% of Ukrainians indicated they trusted the president in a poll taken this month.


European officials, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, swiftly criticised the "dictator" epithet, stating that "it is simply wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelensky his democratic legitimacy."

In a phone conversation with the Ukrainian president, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer made it apparent that he supported Zelensky.

The first high-level, in-person discussions between US and Russian officials since Russia's full-scale invasion took place on Tuesday. Ukraine did not receive an invitation.

Then, Trump seemed to accuse Ukraine of starting the war, saying, "You should never have started it." You might have struck a bargain.

Zelensky responded by accusing Russia of lying during the "notorious meeting" on Tuesday.

"With all due respect to President Donald Trump as a leader... he is living in this disinformation space," he stated.