Ukraine does not have 'any cards' to play, says Trump

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Ukraine has no cards to play in the ongoing conflict, adding that talks with both Russia and Ukraine are ongoing to end the war.

"I've had very good talks with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, and I've had not such good talks with Ukraine," Trump told American governors at the White House.

"They don't have any cards, but they play it tough, but we're not we're not going to let this continue," said the US president. "We're negotiating with Russia, Ukraine, trying to get that horrible situation over with. It's terrible".

Trump reiterated that the war would have never happened if he were president.

"But it did happen. So I got stuck with it, and whole world is stuck with it," he added.

This week, Trump called his Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator" and warned that he "better move fast" to secure peace with Russia or risk losing his country.

Tension has risen after Trump and Zelenskyy traded rebukes in recent days following a meeting between the US and Russia in Saudi Arabia to start working together toward ending the war in Ukraine, which began in 2022.

While Zelenskyy accused Trump of living in a Russian "space of disinformation," Trump called Zelenskyy a "modestly successful comedian" and blamed him for starting the war with Russia.