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Trump's 'dictator' remark and Moscow's Riyadh welcome
Summary
A look back at 19 February 2025, when US-Ukraine relations soured further while Russia's president praised talks with Washington.
What did the diplomatic picture look like on 19 February 2025? It was one of widening distance between Kyiv and Washington, and warmer tones between Moscow and Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator" on that day. He said Zelenskyy had done a "terrible job" and warned that he was "not going to have a country left" soon. The remarks came amid deteriorating relations between the two countries.
The day before, on 18 February 2025, Trump had called for a new presidential election in Ukraine as part of a peace deal with Russia. Ukraine's presidential vote had been scheduled for March or April 2024, but none was held. Martial law, in effect since 24 February 2022, bars presidential elections under Ukrainian law. Parliament has since extended martial law in 90-day intervals; the 20th extension, later approved, runs to 31 October 2026.
In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the high-level talks between Russia and the United States in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He called them a "first step" towards restoring full diplomatic ties with the United States.
Russia's position on European involvement had been stated two days earlier. On 17 February 2025, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said Europe had no role in any peace negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine.
Taken together, the statements from 17 to 19 February 2025 showed negotiations over the war taking shape between Washington and Moscow, while Kyiv faced sharp criticism from the U.S. president.
