Tag: Putins

Putin’s a ‘little bit scared’ of Trump as nations begin peace talks, Zelenskyy says

Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “little bit scared” of President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview that aired Sunday.

Zelenskyy joined NBC’s “Meet the Press,” recounting that when he spoke to Trump by phone about a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, he told the president that he believes Putin fears the American leader.

“I said that [Putin] is a liar,” Zelenskyy recounted of his phone call to Trump. “And he said, ‘I think my feeling is that he’s ready for these negotiations.’ And I said to him, ‘No, he’s a liar. He doesn’t want any peace.’

“But I think he’s really a little bit scared about the President Trump. And I think the president has this chance, and he’s strong. And I think that really he can push Putin to peace negotiations. Yes, I think so. I think he can, but don’t trust him. Don’t trust Putin. Don’t trust just words about ceasefire,” Zelenskyy told NBC’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.”

Zelenskyy’s interview follows Trump announcing last Wednesday that Putin had agreed to “immediately” begin peace negotiations to end the war. Trump tapped Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff to lead negotiations with Russia and Ukraine.

TRUMP SAYS RUSSIA AGREES TO ‘IMMEDIATELY’ BEGIN NEGOTIATIONS TO END WAR IN UKRAINE

Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Pool via Reuters/Leah Millis/Alina Smutko)

PUTIN VIEWED AS ‘GREAT COMPETITOR’ BUT STILL A US ‘ADVERSARY’ AS UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS LOOM, LEAVITT SAYS

Zelenskyy said during his interview that he trusts Trump’s leadership amid negotiations to end the war that has raged between Russia and Ukraine since 2022, but that he won’t accept a deal that did not include talks with Ukraine.

“I believe and trust only in real steps. And I trust President Trump because he’s the president of the United States, because your people, your people voted for him, and I respect their choice, and I will work with President Trump with trust, which I have to the United States,” Zelenskyy told Welker when asked if he feels Trump values Ukraine at the same level as Russia.

FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE MARC FOGEL LANDS IN US AFTER YEARS IN RUSSIAN CAPTIVITY

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting with members of the Security Council via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow, May 13, 2024. (Aleksey Babushkin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo)

“But of course, I want to have [a] real meeting, productive, without just words, with concrete steps, and to hear us, to hear President Trump, to make a common plan, and to share it with allies, then with Russians, and stop this war. I think we need it urgently. We have to do it without basic things, where there are concrete steps.”

Zelenskyy added in his interview that he will not accept any negotiation hashed out by just the U.S. and Russia.

‘NO REASON’ FOR NEW NUKES: TRUMP FLOATS DISARMAMENT TALKS WITH CHINA, RUSSIA

“I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never.… The war in Ukraine is against us, and it is our human losses. And we are thankful for all the support, unity between USA – in USA around Ukraine support, bipartisan unity, bipartisan support, we’re thankful for all of this. But there is no… leader in the world who can really make a deal with Putin without us about us,” he said.

Former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet at Trump Tower in New York City, Sept. 27, 2024. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo)

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Witkoff joined Fox News earlier on Sunday and reported that he and Waltz are heading to Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening to begin negotiations on ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.

February 16, 2025
‘Lies and smears’: Tulsi Gabbard rails against Dem narrative she’s Trump’s and Putin’s ‘puppet’

Director of National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard slammed the Democratic narrative that she is a puppet for U.S. and world leaders, saying she is loyal to only God, the Constitution and her own conscience in her opening remarks before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

“Before I close, I want to warn the American people who are watching at home. You may hear lies and smears in this hearing that will challenge my loyalty to and my love for our country,” Gabbard said.

“Those who oppose my nomination imply that I am loyal to something or someone other than God, my own conscience and the Constitution of the United States. Accusing me of being Trump’s puppet, Putin’s puppet, Assad’s puppet, a guru’s puppet, Modi’s puppet, not recognizing the absurdity of simultaneously being the puppet of five different puppet masters,” she continued.

Gabbard appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday as part of her confirmation process to serve as director of national intelligence under President Donald Trump’s second term.

TENSION BUILDS AROUND TULSI GABBARD’S CONFIRMATION WITH KEY GOP SENATORS UNDECIDED

Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, arrives to testify during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

“The same tactic was used against President Trump and failed,” she continued of the accusations against her.

“The American people elected President Trump with a decisive victory and mandate for change. The fact is, what truly unsettles my political opponents, is I refuse to be their puppet. I have no love for Assad or Gaddafi or any dictator. I just hate al-Qaeda. I hate that we have leaders who cozy up to Islamist extremists, minimizing them to so-called rebels.”

TRUMP APPOINTS TULSI GABBARD AS DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: ‘FEARLESS SPIRIT’

Tulsi Gabbard, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 30, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

Gabbard was elected to the U.S. House representing Hawaii during the 2012 election cycle, serving as a Democrat until 2021. She did not seek re-election to that office after throwing her hat in the 2020 White House race.

Gabbard left the Democratic Party in 2022, registering as an independent, before becoming a member of the GOP this year and offering her full endorsement of Trump amid his presidential campaign before Trump named her his DNI pick.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ SPARKS BACKLASH FOR CLAIMING TULSI GABBARD IS A RUSSIAN ASSET

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Evan Vucci/AP)

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“If confirmed as director of national intelligence, I will continue to live by the oath that I have sworn at least eight times in my life, both in uniform, as and as a member of Congress. I will support and defend our God-given freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same,” she said.

January 30, 2025