Trump deemed Zelensky's presence at the negotiating table unnecessary

US President Donald Trump said on February 21 that the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the peace talks is not necessary.

"I believe that his presence at the talks is not that important," CBS News reporter Jennifer Jacobs quoted Trump as saying on social network X (former Twitter).

In addition, the American leader added that he considers the trip of the head of the US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent to Kiev useless.

"Frankly, I wish he hadn't gone there <...> It was a useless trip," Trump said.

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What leverage the U.S. is using and why it could bring peace talks closer

Earlier, on February 20, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is impressed by the position of the new administration in Washington on the issue of settling the situation in Ukraine. According to him, the new US administration holds different views - they say that it is necessary to establish peace as soon as possible and do it through negotiations.