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Trump Voices Disappointment in Zelenskiy as Peace Talks Drag

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said he’s disappointed in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s handling of a US proposal to end the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion.

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Trump’s tone on Ukraine contrasted with comments in recent days about President Vladimir Putin’s reaction to the proposal.

The US said Friday its negotiators had agreed with Kyiv on a “framework of security arrangements” and discussed what deterrence capabilities were needed as part of a deal to end the war with Russia. However, there was little indication of a major breakthrough.

“We’ve been speaking to President Putin and we’ve been speaking to Ukrainian leaders, including Zelenskiy,” Trump told reporters in Washington on Sunday. “I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskiy hasn’t yet read the proposal — that was as of a few hours ago.”

“His people love it, but he hasn’t,” Trump said of Zelenskiy, claiming that “Russia’s fine with it.”

Zelenskiy said Saturday he spoke with US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner about the latest talks. The Ukrainian leader said in a post on social media that they “agreed on the next steps and formats for talks with the United States.”

Leaders of France, Germany and the UK plan to meet Zelenskiy in London on Monday to discuss US efforts to reach a peace deal — after Russia carried out another round of massive attacks on Ukraine.

Witkoff and Kushner met Putin in Moscow last week. Trump said Wednesday that the Putin meeting was “very good” and that his advisers had a strong impression “that he’d like to make a deal,” though the Kremlin has yet to fully endorse any of the proposals.

Putin said Thursday that difficult work remained and that the US plan included concessions Russia couldn’t agree to.

--With assistance from María Paula Mijares Torres.