US President Donald Trump has effectively blamed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia’s invasion, as French President Emmanuel Macron prepares for another round of talks with EU and non-European partners on Wednesday.

Zelensky previously criticised the US-Russia talks for excluding Kyiv, saying efforts to end the war must be “fair” and involve European countries.

The Ukrainian leader’s comments appeared to incense Trump, who launched a series of verbal attacks on Zelensky.

“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 on Tuesday.

“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.”

Trump also suggested he could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin before the end of the month in Saudi Arabia as he overhauls Washington’s stance towards Moscow — a shift that has alarmed European leaders.

Earlier Tuesday, Russia and the United States had agreed to establish teams to negotiate a path to ending the war in Ukraine after talks that drew a strong rebuke from Kyiv, with Zelensky postponing his own trip to Saudi Arabia.

France’s Macron announced another meeting in Paris on Ukraine after the US-Russia talks, adding that Trump “can restart a useful dialogue” with Putin.

Trump also increased pressure on Zelensky to hold elections — echoing one of Moscow’s key demands.

Asked whether the United States would support demands that Russia wanted to force Zelensky to hold new elections as part of any deal, Trump began by criticising what he said were the Ukrainian’s approval ratings.

“They want a seat at the table, but you could say… wouldn’t the people of Ukraine have a say? It’s been a long time since we’ve had an election,” said Trump.

“That’s not a Russian thing, that’s something coming from me, from other countries.”

Zelensky was elected in 2019 for a five-year term, but has remained in office as Ukraine is still under martial law.

Trump’s latest remarks are unlikely to allay fears among some European leaders, already worried that Washington will make serious concessions to Moscow and re-write the continent’s security arrangement in a Cold War-style deal.

Washington noted European nations would have to have a seat at the negotiating table “at some point”.

The US-Russia talks — the first high-level official talks between the two countries since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine — drew a fiery response from Kyiv.