Zelensky was displeased that Trump spoke with Putin first. Trump clarified his reasons for doing so.

He explained his decision during a conversation with journalists, quotes the New York Post.

According to Trump, he needed to find out from Putin whether he wanted to reach an agreement or not. Trump clarified that he already knows Zelensky wants to do this.

“Someone said, ‘Oh, you should have called Zelensky first.’ I don’t think so. I mean, we need to determine whether Russia wants to reach an agreement or not. […] Now I know that Russia wants to reach an agreement,” said the American president.

Meanwhile, CNN quotes Zelensky's words, who finds it “unpleasant” that Trump spoke with Putin first. In his opinion, negotiations with Russia should only occur after a plan is developed on how to stop Putin.

More on Trump's Calls

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on February 12, followed by a call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Vladimir Zelensky.

Trump stated that he and Putin agreed they want to “stop millions of deaths.” According to the press secretary of the Russian leader, Dmitry Peskov, Putin told Trump about the need to eliminate the “root causes of the conflict” and invited the U.S. president to Moscow.

At the same time, Zelensky mentioned that he and Trump discussed the possibility of achieving peace, their readiness to work together at the team level, as well as technological capabilities, including drones and other modern productions. He thanked Trump for his “interest in what we can do together.”

According to Trump, he is now expected to visit Moscow, while Putin is set to go to Washington, but before that, they will meet in Saudi Arabia.