President Donald Trump on Saturday criticized Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, saying he would “suggest” Ukraine get a new leader who can make a deal. Trump told reporters, “I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals and for some reason, he never does,” as the two leaders sparred over a new U.S.-Russia diesel agreement.
Trump said Friday he secured a deal from Russian President Vladimir Putin to supply markets with Russian diesel as he works to bring down energy costs ahead of the midterm elections, with Ukrainian refinery attacks part of what led him to strike the deal, according to a U.S. official. Trump wrote on social media Putin agreed to “immediately supply” more than 300,000 tons of diesel to global markets with another 500,000 tons promised in November, amounts equal to 6 million barrels that would cover about a day and a half worth of U.S. demand according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Trump said millions more tons would be supplied following the first tranches “based on the condition of their Diesel Refineries.”
Zelensky slammed the agreement, casting it as an “investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged,” and called the diesel move “a weak decision of strong partners” as fresh Ukraine-U.S. talks were getting underway in Miami. Zelensky said the timing made it more painful, noting “In this exact moment when our team is talking to the American team in Florida, the U.S. president has a conversation with Kremlin leader.”
Trump later called for Ukraine to hold elections, though Ukrainian law prohibits holding elections during wartime. A U.S. official said the U.S. repeatedly asked Ukraine to halt attacks on Russian diesel refineries to no avail and that Trump had been fuming over those strikes before the deal. Trump slammed Zelensky for striking Russian refineries, claiming he “wants to make problems for the world,” while analysts cast doubt on the impact of the agreement.