After the failure of the Istanbul peace talks, a Fox News journalist asked President Trump if he now saw Putin as the obstacle to peace. Trump's response:

"Look, I had a pretty tough conversation with Zelensky because I didn’t like what he said. He wasn’t making things easy, and I’ve always said he doesn’t have the cards. He doesn’t have the cards."

The journalist pressed again, but Trump once more avoided mentioning Putin, instead reiterating Zelensky’s "lack of cards."