Kremlin accuses Zelenskyy of rejecting peace amid fallout with Trump
Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Transport Minister at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 30, 2025. (AFP Photo)
The Kremlin on Monday accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of rejecting peace efforts, days after a tense public exchange between Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump sparked diplomatic concerns.
“He doesn’t want peace. Someone should make him want peace. If the Europeans do it, all kudos to them,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, referring to the Ukrainian leader.
Peskov characterized Friday’s confrontation between Trump and Zelenskyy as “quite an unprecedented event” and placed responsibility squarely on the Ukrainian president, who he claimed “demonstrated a complete lack of diplomatic abilities. To put it mildly.”
The unusually direct criticism comes as Ukraine’s European allies held emergency talks in London over the weekend, where Zelenskyy indicated he would collaborate with European partners to establish conditions for potential peace negotiations.
According to Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin is aware of the Trump-Zelenskyy encounter, which the Kremlin views as validation of Russia’s position on the conflict.
The spokesman suggested European nations would need to intervene with Washington, saying “someone will have to make sizable efforts in dialogue with Washington in order to somehow cancel out the unpleasant residue that undoubtedly remains in the White House after talking to Zelenskyy.”
Peskov added that “clearly the efforts of Washington alone and the readiness of Moscow will not be enough” in the current diplomatic environment.
The Kremlin official described the situation as “complex,” noting that “the collective West has begun to partially lose its collective unity” regarding Ukraine.
“Although possible peace plans are being initially sketched out, it is not possible yet to say that there is a coherent peace plan,” Peskov said.
He concluded by reaffirming that Russia continues its “special military operation” in Ukraine “in order to achieve the aims that it had from the start.”
The public dispute between Trump and Zelenskyy marks a potentially significant shift in U.S.-Ukraine relations since Trump’s return to the White House in January.
