US President Donald Trump expressed disappointment with Ukraine’s negotiation skills, suggesting that the war could have been settled easily. He also proposed that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy hold elections as a condition of peace.
Trump’s comments came after a meeting between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, where they agreed to restore embassy staffing and establish a high-level team to negotiate peace in Ukraine. The US and Russia also agreed to explore closer relations and economic cooperation, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating that the two countries “need to have vibrant diplomatic missions that are able to function normally”.