Trump 'confident' on Ukraine deal

FLORIDA, Feb 19 (AFP/AP/Reuters): President Donald Trump sniped at Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky Tuesday and effectively blamed him for Moscow's invasion-even as he said he was more confident of a deal to end the war after US-Russia talks.

Trump increased pressure on Zelensky to hold elections-echoing one of Moscow's key demands-and chided the Ukrainian for complaining about being frozen out of talks in Saudi Arabia.

The US president also suggested that he could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin before the end of the month as Washington overhauls its stance towards Russia in a shift that has alarmed European leaders.

"I'm very disappointed, I hear that they're upset about not having a seat," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida when asked about the Ukrainian reaction.

"Today I heard, 'oh, well, we weren't invited.' Well, you've been there for three years... You should have never started it. You could have made a deal," he said.

Trump's envoy in Kyiv for

talks with Zelenskyy

Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and military commanders, as the U.S. shifted its policy away from years of efforts to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kellogg's trip came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that Kyiv was to blame for the war, which enters its fourth year next week, and talks between top American and Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia sidelined Ukraine and its European supporters.

Trump dismisses

Ukraine concerns

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he might meet Russian President Vladimir Putin this month and dismissed Ukraine's concern about being left out of US-Russian talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the Ukraine war.

Trump spoke for the first time since a US delegation established a working dialogue with Russia about Ukraine during talks in Riyadh earlier in the day.

He brushed aside Ukraine's concern about being left out of the meeting, saying Kyiv could have made a deal with Russia three years ago to avert the invasion by Moscow.

"Today I heard, 'oh, we weren't invited.' Well, you've been there for three years, you should have ended it... you should have never started it. You could have made a deal," said Trump.

EU agrees new sanctions

against Russia to keep

up pressure

EU countries on Wednesday agreed a new round of sanctions on Russia, diplomats said, as the bloc looks to keep up pressure in the face of US talks with Russia.

The wide-ranging package-which includes a ban on imports of Russian aluminium-will be formally adopted by EU foreign ministers on Monday, the third anniversary of Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

The EU's 16th round of sanctions on Russia comes as US President Donald Trump has undercut Kyiv and its European backers by launching efforts with Moscow to end the war.

Macron to host emergency

talks on Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron was set on Wednesday to host a new meeting on Ukraine in a bid to coordinate a European response to what he called an "existential threat" from Russia amid a shock policy shift in Washington.

US president Donald Trump has stunned the European Union by indicating he is ready to resume diplomacy with President Vladimir Putin after three years of Russia's war against Ukraine and discuss the fate of the pro-Western country over the heads of not only Europe but also Kyiv.

On Monday, Macron convened key European leaders as well as NATO and EU chiefs for emergency talks to agree a coordinated response to Washington's shock policy shift on Russia.

Several smaller European countries including Romania and the Czech Republic were reportedly aghast at not being invited despite being strong supporters of Ukraine, so Macron said he would convene a new meeting Wednesday.