Kiev, Ukraine (AP) – Planned press conference after meeting between Ukrainian President Voldy Mie Zelensky and President Donald Trump’s Ukrainian envoy has raised political tensions between the two countries over how to end the nearly three-year war with Russia It deepened and was cancelled on Thursday.
The format of the press event, which was retired from Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, including comments to the media by Zelenskyy, was changed at the last moment, as the two did not send statements or local questions from the journalists. Ta. The change was requested by the US side, said Serhii Nikiforov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian president.
Watch: Trump calls Zelensky “dictator” and tries to pressure Kiev to accept the deal to end the war
Kellogg’s trip to Kyiv coincided with recent rebuttals between Trump and Zelenskyy, hurting their personal relationships and raising even more doubts about the future of US support for Ukrainian war efforts.
Nikiforov gave no other reason other than that the cancellation was following the US wishes.
The US delegation did not immediately comment. The White House did not immediately answer questions about why the press conference was cancelled.
When the meeting began, the photographer and video journalist entered a room where the two men sat opposite each other at a table in the presidential office in Kiev and then shook hands.
The two men were to talk about Trump’s efforts to end the war. Zelenskyy previously said he had explained what was going on in Ukraine and was looking forward to showing it to Kellogg.
Kellogg, one of the architects of a solidly conservative policy book that lays out the “America First” national security agenda, has long been Trump’s top advisor on defense issues.
Zelenskyy and Trump have recently traded rebels.
Spat broke out after Russia and the US agreed on Tuesday to end the war in Ukraine and begin working to improve diplomatic and economic ties. So Trump suddenly overturned the three-year US policy of isolating Russia.
Zelenskyy was unhappy with the US team starting consultations without inviting him or the European government for supporting Kyiv.
When Trump claimed that Zelensky was deeply unpopular in Ukraine, the president said he lived in a Russian-made “disinformation space,” suggesting he was fooled by Putin.
However, Zelenskyy “holds a fairly high level of public trust” – about 57%, according to a report released Wednesday by the Kyiv Institute of International Sociology.
Trump accused Zelensky of being a “no-election dictator!!” Due to the war, Ukraine delayed the election scheduled for April 2024.
Trump also suggested that Ukraine was blamed on the war.
Russian military mistakenly attempted to justify Putin on February 24, 2022 as necessary to protect Russian-speaking civilians in eastern Ukraine and prevent the country from joining NATO. A complete invasion crossed the border.
On Wednesday, Trump warned Zelensky that he “moved fast” to negotiate the end of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or that he would negotiate the risk of not having a leading country.
European leaders commented on the feud, throwing support behind Zelensky.
German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz said it was “falsely dangerous” for a country, Kiev’s second largest arms supplier, after the US, to deny Zelensky’s democratic legitimacy.
Ukraine has defended itself against the relentless war of attacks for nearly three years – every day, every day,” Skolts told news outlet del Spieger.
British Prime Minister Kielstarme spoke with Zelensky on Wednesday, expressing his support for him “as a democratically elected leader in Ukraine,” and the Starmars office said it would be “complete to postpone the wartime elections.” “It’s reasonable to.
Meanwhile, Russian officials have been in Washington’s attention and are offering words of support for Trump’s stance.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “The rhetoric of Zelensky and many representatives of the Kiev administration is generally desired.”
“In recent months, representatives of the Ukrainian regime have allowed statements about the heads of other provinces that are often not fully accepted,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
In diplomatic cries, Ukrainian civilians continue to endure Russian strikes. Russia fired 161 Sharp drones and up to 14 different types of missiles in Ukraine from Wednesday to Thursday, according to military authorities.
The Russian glide bomb raided an apartment block in the southern city of Carson on Wednesday night, killing one person and injuring six people, including 14-year-old twins, authorities said.
Odesa’s Nanko also suffered a Russian drone attack on the second consecutive night, leaving 50,000 homes without electricity as winter temperatures freeze, officials said.
