US President Donald Trump has accused Ukraine of treating US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant rudely, who visited Kiev last week to meet with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
It was understood from Trump's words that Besant was treated rudely because he was denied a meeting with Zelensky. The reason, according to Trump, was that Zelensky was asleep and unavailable.
Besant and Zelensky eventually met on February 12, AFP recalls.
Yesterday, the US president sharply criticized his Ukrainian counterpart, calling him a "dictator". "A dictator who was not elected to the presidency, Zelensky must move, or he will have no country left to run", Trump wrote on his social network "Truth Social".
US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant's trip to Kiev was the first visit by a member of the new US administration to Ukraine, which Donald Trump claims is "successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia".
"The Russians have seized a lot of territory, so they hold all the cards", Trump told reporters yesterday evening, predicting an upcoming meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
With his statement, the US leader further reduced Kiev's hopes that Washington would protect Ukrainian interests in negotiations with Russia, AFP also notes.
Today Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with US special envoy Keith Kellogg. Arriving in Kiev, Kellogg said he understood Ukraine's need for security guarantees.
The meeting will take place just days before the third anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion.