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Trump and Zelenskyy Clash After Kyiv Excluded From US-Russia Talks
Above: Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting with Scott Bessent, US Treasury secretary, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 12, 2025. Image copyright: Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
America's talks with Russia are concerned with bringing a serious end to the war. It's disappointing that Ukraine feels left out because it didn't take part in one conversation, but the truth is that Zelenskyy has overseen three years of war, and if he had wanted peace, he could have sought a deal much sooner.
Pro-Ukraine narrative
Ukraine is of course thankful for everything the US has done, but it would like to see a little more truthfulness from the Trump camp. Talks with Putin bring him out of a justified global isolation, and has been portraying the Russian president as the victim though it was he who invaded his neighbor.