US President Donald Trump, in an interview with Newsmax, discussed the settlement of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and once again criticized Volodymyr Zelensky, infohub.kz reports.
The White House chief admitted that negotiating with the Ukrainian leader is more difficult than with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Zelensky is not an easy person to deal with. He doesn't want to make a deal. He says he wants to make a deal, but he really doesn't. No, I'm not a fan of Zelensky," Trump said.
He criticized Ukraine's decision to resume strikes on Russian oil refineries amid efforts to settle the conflict. Trump explained that such strikes lead to higher global energy prices.
"So if you tell me that Zelensky is again striking oil refineries, all he is doing is driving up world oil prices," the White House chief said indignantly.
He added that there are many other targets for attacks.
"But when you strike refineries that produce diesel fuel that we and the whole world need, you are not doing the world a good service," the US president said.
Asked whether the war would end before the end of his presidential term, Trump expressed optimism about the possibility of a peace agreement but again doubted Zelensky's readiness for negotiations.
"The war must end soon. I think both sides would actually like to see it end," Trump said.
He also noted that there are difficulties in reaching agreements due to what he called personal animosity between the leaders of the conflicting parties.
"As you know, Putin hates Zelensky, and Zelensky hates Putin. When there is such hatred, it is very difficult to agree on anything," he said.
Trump also raised the possibility of new elections in Ukraine, questioning whether Zelensky currently retains public support.
"I think you need elections, because no one tells me that Ukrainians are happy with rockets hitting their apartment buildings," the White House chief said.
Recall that earlier, White House chief Donald Trump lashed out at Volodymyr Zelensky, saying that Ukraine should find a new leader capable of making deals. Later, media named four possible candidates for the post of Ukraine's new president.
Zelensky himself said he is ready to hold presidential elections if Russia agrees to a 60-day full ceasefire. In response, the Kremlin rejected Zelensky's proposal for a two-month truce to hold elections in Ukraine.
And recently, Volodymyr Zelensky said he does not intend to resign, and also commented on the possibility of holding elections now. American businessman Elon Musk said the other day that Zelensky should leave the post of President of Ukraine.