‘You should have ended it’: Donald Trump blames Zelensky for ‘starting’ Ukraine war

President Trump blamed Ukraine for the ongoing conflict with Russia, suggesting they should have made a deal before 2022.

United States President Donald Trump blamed Ukraine for its war with Russia, which is nearing its third anniversary, adding that Kyiv should have struck a deal before the war erupted in 2022.

Trump dismissed Ukraine’s reservation over not being included in the talks with Russia (File)(AP)

During a press conference held at his Florida residence, Trump said that the war should never have started and that Kyiv “could have made a deal.”

Trump’s remarks came after the US and Russia held a high-level meeting in which they discussed putting an end to the Ukraine war. In the meeting, both parties decided to build a high-level team that will work towards bringing peace to Ukraine.

However, Kyiv was excluded from the meeting held in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that the country would not accept the outcome of the war since it did not participate in the talks, reported AP.

Dismissing Ukraine’s reservation over not being included in the talks, Donald Trump said, “Today I heard, ‘Oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you been there for three years. You should have ended it three years…You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”

Trump also said that he might meet his Russian counterpart Putin later this month, reported Reuters. “Probably,” he said when asked about meeting Putin during the press conference.

Siding with Russia over its willingness to bring the Ukraine war to an end, Trump said,"Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the barbarianism that's going on over there. Soldiers are being killed by thousands on a weekly basis... Apart from Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, a lot of Koreans have been killed... We want to end it. It's a senseless war. It should have never happened.”

Trump also said that the war would have never erupted if he was the President.

Ukraine ‘not being sidelined’

US’ Secretary of State Marco Rubio also dismissed the narrative that Ukraine is being sidelined and said that the country will be consulted. “No one is being sidelined here…Obviously, there’s going to be engagement and consultation with Ukraine, with our partners in Europe and others. But ultimately, the Russian side will be indispensable to this effort,” he was quoted as saying by AP.

During the meeting, Russia’s foreign affairs minister Sergey Lavrov said that an issue non-negotiable for the country was Ukraine’s inclusion in NATO, adding that it poses major security threats, reported AP.

“We explained that the deployment of troops from the countries that are NATO members, even if they are deployed under the EU or national flags, will not change anything and will certainly be unacceptable for us,” Lavrov said.

Through the talks, US and Russia and also eyeing to strengthen their strained diplomatic ties as the two parties discussed restraining staff at their respective embassies.