“You should have never started it”: Trump blames Ukraine over war with Russia, citing three-year window for agreement

President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, commenting on Ukraine's possible disappointment over its absence from the talks between the American and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia, said that Ukraine "should not have started" the war. He also suggested that peace could have been agreed upon in three years.

He stated this during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence.

It should be noted that the statement was made after the talks between representatives of the United States and Russia in Saudi Arabia, which took place without the participation of the Ukrainian delegation. Trump called the talks "very good".

"Russia wants to do something; they want to stop the savage barbarism that's going on there. Soldiers are being killed by the thousands on a weekly basis," the head of the White House emphasized.

Trump was asked what he thought about the fact that Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia for three years, might feel betrayed or disappointed by its absence from the negotiations.

"I'm the one who's disappointed that the war has been going on for three years. This wouldn't have happened if I were president," he emphasized.

At the same time, according to the US president, Ukraine could have prevented the war by making a deal with Russia.

"Today I heard, 'Oh, well, we weren't invited.' Well, you've been there for three years … You should have never started it. You could have made a deal," Trump said.

Trump also stressed that if he were president in 2022, he could have made a deal for Ukraine to return "almost all the land" to Kyiv's control, and "not a single city would have been destroyed."

The White House chief called his predecessor, Joe Biden, "so pathetic" and then accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of incompetence.

"Look, you have a leader – and I personally like him. He's fine. But I personally don't care. I care about getting the job done. Now you have leadership that allowed a war to continue that shouldn't have even happened, even without the United States," the American president said.

For reference:

Negotiations between delegations of the United States and the Russian Federation began on February 18 in Saudi Arabia. The parties planned to discuss economic cooperation and "the issue of the Ukrainian settlement."

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Vladimir Putin's assistant Yuri Ushakov flew from the Russian Federation to Riyadh to meet with representatives of the United States.

Ukraine was not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia. Still, the United States intends to hold a bilateral meeting with Russia, then a bilateral meeting with Ukraine, and then joint negotiations.

On February 18, it became known that Russian representatives had already met with representatives of the team of US President Donald Trump.

The plans of the US presidential administration include reaching an agreement on a ceasefire in Ukraine by Easter, which will be celebrated on April 20.

At the same time, Kellogg stated that no one would impose a peace agreement on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, emphasizing that Ukraine would make the decision.