Trump: Russia holds leverage in Ukraine peace talks

Shafaq News/ US President Donald Trump claimed that Russia now controls a significant portion of Ukrainian territory and holds the upper hand in peace negotiations.

Speaking to the BBC aboard Air Force One while returning to Washington after a meeting in Florida, Trump stated, "I believe the Russians want to end the war, I am convinced of that. But I think they hold the trump cards to some extent because they have taken over a lot of territory. So, they have the leverage."

Trump also blamed Ukraine for initiating the conflict with Russia, criticized President Volodymyr Zelensky, and called for new elections in Kyiv. His remarks come amid indications that the current US administration under his leadership has diminished its negotiating influence with Russia.

In related developments, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, speaking at NATO headquarters on February 12, confirmed that the United States would not support Ukraine’s membership in NATO or deploy peacekeeping forces, warning that Ukraine would not revert to its pre-2014 borders following Moscow’s initial assault.

European officials distanced themselves from Trump’s statements. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius remarked, "The Americans made a mistake," while Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard warned that Europe must not fall into President Vladimir Putin’s trap.

Trump’s criticism of Zelensky followed a high-level meeting between American and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday—the first such encounter since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Notably, Ukraine was excluded from these discussions.

Both Washington and Moscow have signaled that a direct meeting between Trump and Putin could occur before the end of February.