MOSCOW
The Kremlin on Monday claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed a “lack of diplomatic skills” during a spat with US President Donald Trump at the White House last week.
“Quite an unprecedented event, of course. Zelenskyy demonstrated, in many ways, probably a complete lack of diplomatic skills, at the very least. Not to mention more,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists in Moscow.
Arguing that the spat at the Oval Office “certainly demonstrated how difficult it will be to get on the path of a settlement around Ukraine,” Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is also aware of what transpired during the talks.
Peskov further argued that the spat also proved Putin was right when he said that Moscow’s readiness to hold talks on Ukraine are hampered by the reluctance to do so on the part of Kyiv.
“The Russian side has once again seen that President Putin was right when he said that, despite the Russian side’s openness to the negotiation process, these good intentions are being hampered by the Kyiv regime’s unwillingness to maintain such dynamics,” he said.
A heated exchange took place Friday between Zelenskyy, Trump, and US Vice President JD Vance at the White House.
Trump criticized the Ukrainian leader’s attitude during the exchange, while Zelenskyy expressed his expectation of support for his country.
