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The US president has reportedly insisted that the Ukrainian leader should hold an election and possibly step down
US President Donald Trump has privately made it clear to his aides that Vladimir Zelensky should quit as the Ukrainian leader, NBC has reported, citing an administration source.
The report comes ahead of negotiations between senior US officials and Zelensky’s chief of staff in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will discuss a resolution to the three-year conflict with a Ukrainian delegation headed by Andrey Yermak.
Trump wants to see a change in Zelensky’s attitude toward peace talks, including a willingness to concede claims to territory, the broadcaster said in an article on Sunday, citing a member of the US administration and another American official.
Trump has reportedly said that Zelensky should be ready to move toward holding a presidential election and “possibly toward stepping down as his country’s leader.”
Zelensky’s presidential term officially expired in May 2024 as he refused to hold a new election, citing martial law imposed during the conflict with Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in February that Moscow does not consider Zelensky to be a legitimate head of state, but is still ready to negotiate.
Trump already called for a presidential vote to be held in the Ukraine last month, labelling Zelensky a “dictator without elections” with a “4% approval rating.”
According to the latest poll by Kiev International Institute of Sociology, the Ukrainian leader’s rating stands at 68%, with the numbers going up sharply after his public spat with Trump and US Vice President J.D. Vance at the White House in late February.
Zelensky demanded security guarantees from the US, ruled out talks with Moscow and claimed that Vance could not have known anything about Ukraine’s problems due to never having visited the country.
After the argument, Trump accused his guest of not wanting peace with Moscow and being ungrateful for billions assistance which Washington has provided to his country during the conflict.
Following the debacle the US president halted military aid to Ukraine and then stopped sharing intelligence with Kiev.
Trump said last week that he was “finding it more difficult… to deal with Ukraine” than with Russia when it comes to negotiating the settlement of the conflict. It is “surprising” considering that Moscow has “all the cards,” while Kiev has none, he stressed.
