Trump says Zelensky’s ‘not important enough’ for peace talks…as US envoy breaks rank to hail ‘courageous’ Ukraine leader

DONALD Trump has said Volodymyr Zelensky is "not very important" for peace talks regarding his own country. It is the latest instalment of the ever-growing rift between the US and Ukraine leaders. Trump on Friday said he doesn't consider it essential for President Zelensky to be present at negotiations aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

"I don't think he's very important to be in meetings," he said in an audio interview with Fox News. "He's been there for three years. He makes it very hard to make deals.". The President later told governors at the White House: "I've had very good talks with Putin, and I've had not such good talks with Ukraine.

"They don't have any cards, but they play it tough.". It comes as Trump's war hero Ukraine peace envoy broke ranks to publicly praise Zelensky - despite the US President branding him a "dictator". Decorated war veteran Keith Kellogg, 80, travelled to Kyiv this week to meet with the Ukrainian president who is currently embroiled with a bitter feud with Trump and his pals.

Kellogg - dubbed Trump's 'Special K' - has been tasked with ending the war in Ukraine in just 100 days with his main duty being to act as a mediator between Moscow, Kyiv and Washington. Military man, Kellogg, spoke with Zelensky on Thursday around the future of Ukraine amid looming pressure to agree to a peace deal.

Following the talks, Zelensky posted a video on social media in which he said the conversation "restored hope" in US-Ukraine relationships. He also personally thanked Kellogg. The special envoy responded with a glowing review of the meeting. He said: "A long and intense day with the senior leadership of Ukraine.

"Extensive and positive discussions with @ZelenskyyUa, the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war and his talented national security team.". The positive comments comes amid a period of diplomatic turmoil between the US and Ukraine after Trump branded Zelensky a "dictator".

Tensions were so high that a joint news conference between Kellogg and Ukraine's leader was cancelled last-minute at the request of US officials, Zelensky's office said. Spokesman Serhii Nikiforov gave no other reason for the briefing being called off other than it was in accordance with US wishes.

Despite no official reason being given for the late axing of the conference, it did come off the back of mounting disagreements between both nations. Meanwhile, Trump's national security advisor Mike Waltz said he expects Zelensky to sign a deal granting the US a share of Ukraine’s mineral wealth.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Waltz, who was involved in the negotiations with Moscow that began on Tuesday, expressed confidence in the agreement. “Look, here’s the bottom line - President Zelensky is going to sign that deal,” he said at CPAC.

“And you will see that in the very short term, and that is good for Ukraine. What better could you have for Ukraine than to be in an economic partnership with the United States?”. Trump sparked uproar on Wednesday after lashing out at Ukraine's wartime leader and accusing him of "refusing to have elections".

In a shocking social media rant, Trump warned “modestly successful comedian” Zelensky must “move fast or he is not going to have a country left”. Trump also claimed the Ukrainian president talked the US into "spending $350 billion dollars to go into a war that couldn't be won".

He also later insisted he "trusts" that Russia wants peace after branding Zelensky a "dictator without elections". Trump then once again labelled Zelensky a "dictator" after the Ukrainian leader said he was "living in a disinformation space". Zelensky also accused Trump of falling for Russia's propaganda and fake news as he told of his fury of Ukraine being excluded from peace talks.

The Sun Says... DONALD Trump’s smearing of the Ukraine regime as scam artists who provoked a war using US taxpayers’ money is a rant beneath the dignity of his office. Almost nothing in it is true. It reads like a post on a forum for ­conspiracy theorists. It is an unprecedentedly shocking statement from the President of the United States.

Vladimir Putin has made no secret of his imperialist ambitions, nor his denial of his neighbour’s right to exist as a sovereign, free country. He invaded Ukraine, butchered and raped its people, stole its children and bombed its cities. President Zelensky — far from duping anyone or inviting the conflict, far from being a “dictator without elections” — has been a heroic wartime leader who needs Western aid to overcome staggering odds.

The idea he is riding a “gravy train” is laughable. And his people, with whom he remains highly popular whatever Trump claims, have resisted conquest with immense bravery. It is troubling and short-sighted in the extreme for the so-called leader of the free world to have no interest in a war ­raging in Europe because he is separated from it by the Atlantic.

America is not a business where Trump, as CEO, has no task except to slash costs and maximise profits. It is the most powerful democracy on Earth with global responsibilities and — let’s be frank — a duty to discern right from wrong with absolute moral clarity.