White House National Security Adviser Mike Walz said that Washington needs a Ukrainian leader who is willing to secure a lasting peace with Russia and that it is not certain whether President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready for that, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
A few days after Trump and his Vice President J.D. Vance exchanged sharp remarks with Zelensky in the Oval Office, Walz said that the US wants a lasting peace between Moscow and Kiev that includes territorial concessions and European security guarantees.
"We need a leader who can work with us and ultimately interact with the Russians to end this war," said Walz on CNN. "If it becomes clear that President Zelensky has personal or political motives that are deviating from the ceasefire in his country, then I think we will have a real problem", the White House national security adviser added.
House Speaker Mike Johnson also raised the possibility that if Zelensky does not comply with US demands, then the US government may have to turn to another Ukrainian leader.
"Something has to change. Either he has to come to his senses and come back to the negotiating table, or someone else has to lead the country to do that," the leading Republican in Congress said on "Meet the Press" on NBC.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on ABC that he had not spoken to Zelensky since Friday, when the scandal broke in the Oval Office. Rubio has also not had contact with his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Szybiga since then. "We will be ready to resume our contacts when they are ready to make peace," Rubio said.