France does not understand why US President Donald Trump suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was to blame for Russia's invasion of his country and the ensuing war, a French government spokesman said, Reuters reports.
"We don't really understand the logic behind that," spokeswoman Sophie Primas told reporters, describing President Trump's "varied, disparate and often incomprehensible comments."
She added that Trump has made a series of statements about Ukraine in the past few days without consulting his European allies.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday: "You were there for three years," referring to concerns that Ukraine was being excluded from talks between Russia and the United States. "You should never have started that. You could have made a deal."
The bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II began in 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Ukraine and its European allies were stunned by Washington and Moscow's decision to hold peace talks in Saudi Arabia this week. Ukraine said it would not accept an imposed deal without its consent, a statement echoed by European leaders, while Russia ruled out giving up territory it had captured.
French President Emmanuel Macron will hold an informal meeting on Ukraine with some European leaders and NATO ally Canada at 16 p.m., following a similar meeting with representatives of Britain, Italy, Germany, Spain, the EU, Denmark and the Netherlands on Monday.
Ahead of Wednesday's talks, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that while there was no full agreement within the European Union on how to move forward, countries had still managed to achieve a lot within the EU. He stressed that it was important for Ukraine's allies to do everything they could to put Kiev in a stronger position.
With a dose of caution, he added:
"Everyone seems to believe that Russia wants to negotiate peace. I'm not at all sure about that. That's why we have to keep a cool head and continue to support Ukraine."
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