Trump envoys rebuke Zelenskyy over US President criticism — NYT
Photo: Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff (RBC-Ukraine)
During a meeting in Oslo, US President Donald Trump's special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner privately rebuked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his responses to Trump's criticism, according to The New York Times.
"The rules of the road when it comes to President Trump’s relations with foreign leaders are clear: He may trash you. But woe unto you if you whack back," the agency states.
According to media reports, this time Trump did not like how Zelenskyy reacted to his criticism. That is why Trump instructed Witkoff and Kushner to sort things out with the Ukrainian President. All of this took place during a closed-door meeting in Oslo on October 20.
Trump's special envoys not only reprimanded Zelenskyy but also claimed that he had, so to speak, angered the White House chief.
"Mr. Zelenskyy pushed back at times during the discussion as the Americans complained about certain comments. "I never said that," Mr. Zelenskyy insisted at one point, according to the person, who shared details on condition of anonymity because it was a private conversation," the agency writes.
Journalists note that the contrast between Trump's attitudes toward autocrats and democrats became even more apparent the day after the meeting in Oslo, when Witkoff arrived in St. Petersburg for peace talks with Vladimir Putin.
After securing the release of American Steven Gabbard, who had been held in a Russian prison, Witkoff, to everyone’s surprise, called Putin a 'humanist'. Shortly thereafter, Trump stated that he shared his special envoy's view on the matter.
New conflict between Trump and Zelenskyy
Recently, the US President publicly accused his Ukrainian counterpart of being unwilling to end the war with Russia.
Trump also began claiming that Zelenskyy was not someone worth dealing with.
US President did not stop there and called on the Ukrainian people to elect a new president.
A little later, Zelenskyy responded to Trump's accusation that he was allegedly difficult to deal with.
Meanwhile, RBC-Ukraine learned from its sources why the US President began to curry favor with Putin and attack Zelenskyy.
