President Donald Trump said Friday it was unimportant for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to be in meetings to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war—escalating a feud that began earlier this week after Zelensky rejected a deal to give the U.S. rights to some of Ukraine’s mineral resources.

After Trump called Zelensky a “dictator” and began talks with Russia, even some of Zelensky’s harshest domestic critics have begun defending him.

President Donald Trump’s promotion of Russia’s narrative has caused worry in Europe that the United States is redrawing its long-standing alliances.