Washington: Donald Trump on Friday said he doesn't consider it essential for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to be present at negotiations aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "I don't think he's very important to be in meetings," Trump said in an audio interview with Fox News. "He's been there for three years. He makes it very hard to make deals."

Kyiv and Europe have complained of being sidelined after Trump opened talks with Moscow over ending the war, which began with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russian and top diplomats met in Saudi Arabia earlier this week to talk about a ceasefire and Kyiv was not invited.

Tensions with Kyiv soared further when Trump branded Zelensky a "dictator" and falsely claimed Ukraine had "started" the war. "He complains that he's not in a meeting that we're having with Saudi Arabia trying to intermediate peace," Trump said in his interview Friday. "He's been in a meeting for three years and nothing got done."

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