Donald Trump is demanding Volodymyr Zelensky hold elections that could oust him from office as the price of peace.
His comments came after Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, and Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, met in Saudi Arabia for the first time on Tuesday to discuss terms to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
After more than four hours of talks, it emerged that both sides had agreed elections should be held in Ukraine before a final peace settlement is reached.
The proposal raises concerns that Russia will use the ballot to oust Ukraine’s wartime leader from office and install a pro-Putin candidate who would agree to peace terms favourable to Moscow.
Later on Tuesday, Mr Trump said the demand for a Ukrainian presidential election “came from me”.
Speaking from Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach he said: “We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law, essentially martial law in Ukraine, where the leader in Ukraine, I mean, I hate to say it, but he’s down at 4 per cent approval rating, and where a country has been blown to smithereens…
“If Ukraine wants a seat at the table, wouldn’t the people have to say it has been a long time since they had an election?
“That’s not a Russian thing, that’s something coming from me and coming from many other countries also.”
The American delegation of Steve Witkoff, Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz gather after meeting with Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday – Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Reuters
It represents a particular setback for Sir Keir Starmer, who on Sunday called for Britain and other Nato members to send troops to Ukraine to act as peacekeepers. He also said after a meeting with other Nato leaders in Paris on Monday that he would tell Mr Trump when he visits Washington that the US needed to offer security guarantees.
Mr Trump said that allowing Europe to have troops in Ukraine “would be fine”.
He added: “I wouldn’t object to it at all.”
On Wednesday, France will host a second meeting to discuss Ukraine and European security.
Mr Lavrov said diplomats from the US team also proposed a moratorium on attacks on the energy infrastructure of Russia and Ukraine.
A similar moratorium was discussed last year during negotiations to restore the Black Sea grain deal, but Kyiv refused to engage in dialogue, he said.
Mr Zelensky was not invited to attend the talks and cancelled a pre-planned visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday because he had not received clarity on whether the United States or any Russian delegates would still be there for meaningful meetings.
“I don’t know who will stay there and who will go and to be honest I don’t care,” he said.
He reacted furiously to the Saudi Arabia gathering, saying that any talks aimed at ending the war should be “fair” and involve European countries, including Turkey – which offered to host negotiations.
“Ukraine, Europe in a broad sense – and this includes the European Union, Turkey, and the UK – should be involved in conversations and the development of the necessary security guarantees with America regarding the fate of our part of the world,” Mr Zelensky said at a press conference with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president.
Negotiations “should not take place behind our backs”, he added.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands in Ankara – ADEM ALTAN/AFP
Mr Trump defended his decision not to invite Ukraine to the Saudi Arabia talks, saying “they had three years” to end the war.
“I hear that they’re upset about not having a seat. Well, they’ve had a seat for three years and a long time before that, this could have been settled very easily,” he said.
“Just a half-baked negotiator could have settled this years ago without the loss of much land, very little land, without the loss of any lives, and without the loss of cities that are just laying on their sides.”
Tuesday’s talks represented a consequential reset in relations between Russia and the US, with both countries agreeing to re-establish missions in their respective countries and to begin geopolitical and economic negotiations.
The first phase of the peace deal proposed during Tuesday’s meeting would involve a ceasefire, followed by presidential elections in Ukraine, which were postponed during the war under martial law.
The final stage would involve Kyiv and Moscow signing an agreement to end the conflict after an election, The Telegraph understands.
Donald Trump speaks to the press on Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida – ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP
Some polls have shown voters’ support for Mr Zelensky dropping to about 50 per cent in late 2024, down from the high 70s a year before.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of Mr Zelensky’s presidency after he stayed in post beyond his term, which had been due to end in May last year.
Responding to the meeting, a Ukrainian source said it was “absolutely mind-blowing and downright infuriating what Russia and the US are coming up with for peace talks in Ukraine – pure, unbelievable absurdity”.
Mr Lavrov said the round-table talks with the US were “useful” and both parties had agreed to appoint a team of negotiators to deliver the deal.
“We listened and heard each other,” he said, adding that both sides had agreed to a formal “process” to settle the conflict in Ukraine.
Mr Rubio said he was “convinced” that Moscow was ready to engage in a “serious process” to end the war.
He said: “If the war ends, not only will the world be a better place, then I think there’ll be some pretty unique opportunities to work with [Russia] on areas of bilateral, geopolitical interests, and some very unique economic opportunities.
“We have to get the Ukraine situation resolved first in a way that’s acceptable to everyone.”
He said Mr Trump was the only person who could bring about an end to fighting in Ukraine.
“Obviously, a lot of work remains before we have a result. But President Trump’s the only one that can do it.”
After mixed messaging, the US agreed in Saudi Arabia not to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, a source close to the White House told The Telegraph.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s administrations have engaged in peace talks, without Volodymyr Zelensky – BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP
Reacting to the news, James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said it raised questions about Sir Keir’s plans to send British troops to the region to act as peacekeepers. He said: “If Keir Starmer really wants to look at putting troops on the ground in Ukraine we need a lot more information about how America would provide a backstop if they won’t put soldiers in Ukraine.
“We need to know a lot more about both what the UK Government and the White House is thinking before we consider a peace-keeping force.”
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said Paris was “not preparing to send ground troops as belligerents to the conflict, to the front” in Ukraine.
In an interview with French regional newspapers, Mr Macron emphasised that sending troops could only take place in the most limited fashion and away from conflict zones.
Mr Lavrov noted that Russia opposed any deployment of Nato-nation troops to Ukraine as part of an eventual ceasefire.
He told US negotiators that settling the war required a reorganisation of Europe’s defence agreements.
Moscow has long called for the withdrawal of Nato forces from eastern Europe, viewing the alliance as an existential threat on its flank.
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