Trump reminds Kiev that it still has no 'cards' in conflict
Donald Trump opined that Vladimir Zelensky had to make a deal a year or two ago
WASHINGTON, November 22. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump recalled that he had warned Vladimir Zelensky that Kiev had no "cards" in the conflict in Ukraine.
"At some point he's going to have to accept something," the US leader told reporters at the White House, referring to the fact that Zelensky would have to agree to a settlement of the conflict. "You remember, in the Oval Office not so long ago, I said: 'You don’t have the cards,'" Trump added, referring to his meeting with Zelensky at the White House in February.
"I thought he [Zelensky] was going to make a deal a year ago, two years ago," Trump added. "The ultimate deal would have been if it never started," the US leader said, referring to the conflict in Ukraine. "That would have been a good deal, too, if you had the right president. But you didn't have the right president," he pointed out.
"Don't forget, I inherited this war," Trump emphasized, referring to the fact that the conflict began under former President Joe Biden.
At the February meeting, Trump threatened Zelensky that Washington would withdraw its support from Kiev if Ukraine did not seek a settlement.
New US plan
On November 20, at a meeting in Kiev, an American delegation led by US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll presented Zelensky with Trump's plan for settling the conflict. According to the Financial Times, the 28-point peace plan, approved by Trump, calls for significant concessions from Kiev.
The next day, Reuters reported that the US administration demanded Ukraine sign the plan by November 27, threatening to halt arms supplies and intelligence sharing otherwise.
At a meeting with the Security Council, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the American 28-point peace plan could form the basis for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine. "But this text has not been discussed with us in detail," the president pointed out. "And I can guess why. I believe the reason is the same: the US administration has not yet secured the Ukrainian side's agreement. Ukraine is against it," Putin emphasized.