Interviewer Friedman criticized Zelensky for being rude to Putin

American blogger Lex Friedman has criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (his term of office expires in May 2024) after an interview with him in early January for being rude to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said this on January 20 on his page on X (former Twitter).

According to Friedman, he gave his interlocutor every chance to demonstrate his willingness to negotiate, realizing that the Russian leader would also be listening to their dialogue.

"In my opinion, Zelensky did not take those chances and instead spoke very rudely towards Putin. This <...> is not a productive approach to negotiations," he noted.

The blogger emphasized that for a settlement, it is necessary to treat the other leader "with the same seriousness that you yourself expect from him."

"You need to take him as a serious person who loves his country and his people," Friedman concluded.

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During the interview, the Ukrainian leader said that he has a good command of the Russian language, but sincerely despises the Russian people. This is how he explained why the conversation took place not in Russian, which both he and Friedman know, but in Ukrainian with the help of an interpreter. Reacting to this, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, called Zelensky's behavior a standard violation of political correctness.

During the interview, Zelensky also said that he had suggested that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump sell weapons to Kiev for $300 billion from Russia's frozen assets. He noted that this would be one of the security guarantees for the country. Reacting to this, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed to Zelensky's strengthened corrupt ties with the West.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which was announced by the Russian president on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.