Trump’s comments marked a shift from criticizing Zelensky as a “dictator,“ after the Ukrainian president complained that his country -- invaded by Russia in 2022 -- had been left out of talks between US and Russian officials.
Trump added Kyiv would “hopefully in the next fairly short period of time” sign a deal handing Washington preferential access to Ukraine’s mineral deposits.
Trump wants Ukraine to give US companies access to its vast natural resources as compensation for the tens of billions of dollars of aid delivered under his predecessor Joe Biden.
Zelensky -- who had rejected the agreement -- said Friday he hoped for a “fair result.”
The minerals deal has become a major sticking point in the increasingly fraught relations between Washington and Kyiv.
Earlier Friday, Trump described Ukraine as at a disadvantage in the negotiations -- further alarming allies who think he will offer concessions to Putin.
His call for Zelensky and Putin to work together came despite him saying in a Fox News interview that it was not “very important” for Zelensky to be involved in US-Russia talks.
The US president added that Putin -- the Russian strongman for whom he has repeatedly expressed admiration -- faced no pressure to make a deal.
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer -- who are both due at the White House next week for potentially tricky discussions -- have been accused by Trump of doing nothing to end the war.
Europe 'must do more'
Russia's army on Friday said it had captured two more villages in eastern Ukraine.
“We won’t leave Ukraine alone and decide things over their heads,“ he said Friday at his last major campaign event before weekend elections.
On the diplomatic front, the United States proposed Friday a resolution at the United Nations that omitted any mention of Kyiv's territory occupied by Russia.
Washington’s text, seen by AFP, calls for a “swift end to the conflict” without mentioning Kyiv’s territorial integrity, and was welcomed by Moscow’s ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia as “a good move.”
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