US envoy for Ukraine conflict meets Zelensky

US President Donald Trump's envoy for the Ukraine conflict met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Feb 20, but there was no immediate word on whether their talks had helped smooth over an unprecedented wartime rift between the once firm allies, and key US officials indicated that major frustrations remain.

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KYIV -

Mr. Zelensky had earlier struck a conciliatory tone after accusing Mr. Trump of repeating Russian disinformation in response to the US President's accusation that Ukraine had started the three-year-old war with Russia.

Mr. Trump went on to refer to Mr. Zelensky as a "dictator" who should act fast or lose his country.

Mr. Trump is pushing for a quick deal to end the war and has alarmed Washington's European allies by leaving them and Ukraine out of initial talks with Russia.

US Vice-President J.D. Vance said on Feb 20 he believed that an end to the conflict was near and there was no stopping the war without speaking to Russia.

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, meanwhile, told a White House press briefing that Mr. Zelensky's insults were unacceptable and that the Ukrainian President needed to come back to the table and discuss a previously floated deal to give the US access to Ukraine's minerals resources.