During a press conference at his Florida residence Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday afternoon local time that the proposal for a Ukrainian presidential election "came from me".
You would never have started it, you could have reached an agreement, Trump said at a press conference and accused, without grounds, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj of the Russian war of aggression.
Trump further claimed, without basis, that Zelenskyj has very low confidence ratings, four percent.
52 percent of Ukrainians trusted Zelenskyj in December, according to the latest survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, reports Financial Times.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Hoping for a Puppet President
Trump's statement comes after top diplomats from Russia and the US met for a first meeting in Saudi Arabia, where Ukraine was not invited to participate.
Both the US and Russia believe that Zelenskyj has a low chance of winning a re-election, according to several diplomatic sources to Fox News.
In a report from the meeting in Saudi Arabia, the sources state that Russian President Vladimir Putin "assesses the probability of a puppet president being elected as quite high".
The Russian president is also convinced that another candidate than Zelenskyj will be "more flexible and ready for negotiations and concessions", according to the report.
Zelenskyj has said that they will never accept peace terms negotiated without Ukrainian presence.
No Elections During Martial Law
Russia has been questioning the Ukrainian president, citing the fact that his formal term has expired. Ukraine has not held a presidential election during Russia's ongoing invasion and occupation, as martial law prevails.
Kyiv has feared that an election in this situation would jeopardize Ukrainian unity and open up for destabilizing Russian influence campaigns, reports Politico.
Ihor Zjovkva, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, announced in Brussels on Monday that they had not received any pressure from the US to hold elections.
Not in a single meeting or phone call has this demand been made. Ukraine's view is very simple and in accordance with the law: as long as we have martial law, we cannot hold elections. When martial law no longer applies, a certain transition period is needed.
