Donald Trump vs Zelensky: US official tells Ukraine to ‘tone it down’ amid President’s ‘dictator’ remark
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on Thursday, February 20, stated that Ukraine officials “need to tone it down” following a heated exchange between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Waltz told Fox News that the Ukrainians “need to tone it down and take a hard look and sign that deal,” referring to the proposed minerals agreement.
At the same time, a press conference featuring US President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was cancelled at the request of the US delegation, Euronews reported, citing officials in Kyiv.
The recent developments come after Donald Trump, on Wednesday, called Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “modestly successful comedian” and ‘dictator’ after the Ukrainian president said that his US counterpart was influenced by Russian disinformation.
Donald Trump also wrote on Truth Social that Zelenskyy “better move fast or he is not going to have a country left.”
Trump’s envoy and Zelensky press conference cancelled
Ukrainian president Zelenskyy and retired US General Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, were supposed to speak to the press after their meeting in the Ukrainian capital.
However, with the ongoing debate between Zelensky and Donald Trump, the press conference as been called off, the Ukrainian president’s spokesperson Serhii Nikiforov said. The US delegation has not made any comment so far, reported Euronews.
Cancellation of the press conference has cast further doubt on the future of Washington’s support for Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion of the eastern European country.
Ukraine outraged by US Russia talks
The US-Russia talks, which began this week in Saudi Arabia without Ukrainian participation, sparked outrage in Ukraine and across Europe. Zelenskyy vowed that Ukraine would not sign any deal made without its involvement.
The Ukrainian president further opposed a proposed agreement that would grant the US access to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of minerals, as per multiple reports.
