Trump’s comments about President Zelensky during an interview with the U.S. news outlet Newsmax reveal a growing strain in the relationship between the United States and Ukraine.
In the interview, Trump remarked, “Zelensky is not a good guy for us to deal with. He doesn’t want to settle. He says he wants to settle, but he doesn’t.”
Trump also confessed, “I’m not a big fan of Zelenskyy.”
When questioned about Ukraine’s renewed strikes on Russian oil refineries, Trump called the actions “a disgrace.”
“All he’s doing is making the world oil price higher… There are a lot of targets that you can hit,” Trump added.
Trump’s frustration stems from Ukraine’s continued targeting of Russian oil refineries, which he says undermines a recent U.S. agreement to import 300,000 tonnes of Russian diesel in an effort to lower domestic fuel prices.
The agreement, in turn, infuriated Zelensky, who denounced it as a gift to Putin.
Zelensky has been conducting a series of consecutive meetings with European Union leaders during his visit to Brussels. On Thursday he conferred with NATO chief Marke Rutte and the presidents of Poland, France, Denmark and Belgium.
The previous day, he held talks with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham at 10 Downing Street in London.
During Friday’s summit, Zelensky announced plans to engage in discussions with the heads of the European Council and European Commission, as well as the prime ministers of Hungary, Finland, and Sweden.