Trump criticized Zelensky in remarks on Tuesday, claiming the leader of Ukraine could have prevented the war by making a deal, as Trump pushes for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine to end the war. Zelensky responded by rejecting Trump’s claim and adding that Ukraine needs to be involved in the peace talks for a deal to be made.

“Unfortunately, President Trump — I have great respect for him as a leader of a nation that we have great respect for, the American people who always support us — unfortunately lives in this disinformation space,” Zelensky told reporters on Wednesday.

U.S. and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia earlier this week as Trump pushes for an end to the war in Ukraine, which began in its current phase with an invasion by Russia nearly three years ago.

Trump criticized Zelensky’s claims that Ukraine was not invited to the talks by saying he could have prevented the war by making a deal.

“I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it’s going very well. But today, I heard, ‘Oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it — three years,” Trump said during a press conference on Tuesday. “You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”

Trump also criticized Zelensky for postponing elections during the war and hit him for his approval rating, which Trump claimed was at 4%. Zelensky said Wednesday that the 4% figure Trump cited was disinformation. The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology had his most recent approval ratings from February at 57%.

At the meeting in Saudi Arabia, U.S. and Russian officials agreed to four points as they try to improve their relationship and work on a deal with Ukraine to end the conflict. Ukrainian officials have remained adamant they will not take a deal without a seat at the negotiating table.