Ammon News - President Trump sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, after U.S. officials met for talks with Russia, from which Ukraine was excluded.

Trump's comments — falsely suggesting Ukraine started the war and that Zelensky is deeply unpopular with his own people — will supercharge fears among Ukraine and U.S. allies that the Trump administration is siding with Moscow ahead of possible peace talks.

They could also increase the tension and suspicion between the Trump administration and the Zelensky government.

Senior U.S. and Russian officials met on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia for more than four hours to discuss ending the war in Ukraine and preparing for a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Both Russian and U.S. officials who participated in the meeting said publicly it was positive and successful. "The talks were very good," Trump later said from Mar-a-Lago.

Trump said he is "much more confident" about the chances of getting a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine after the meeting in Saudi Arabia and that he thinks he could meet with Putin before the end of February.

Zelensky, however, said on Tuesday that the talks in Saudi Arabia were organized behind Ukraine's back.

"We were not invited to the meeting between the U.S. and Russia in Saudi Arabia. It was a surprise for us and we learned about it from the media," he said.

In protest of the meeting, Zelensky decided to postpone his unrelated visit to Saudi Arabia planned for Wednesday in order not to create "a false impression of negotiations." Axios