Sir Keir Starmer has done nothing to end the war in Ukraine, Donald Trump has said. Asked about a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron and the British Prime Minister to Washington next week, Mr Trump said: “They didn’t do anything either [to end the war]. The war’s going on, no meetings with Russia, no nothing.”.
He added: “Macron is a friend of mine, and I’ve met with the Prime Minister, he’s a very nice guy... [but] nobody’s done anything.”. Speaking to Fox News, the US president said the only reason Russia had joined talks on ending the war was “because of me”.
Mr Trump also doubled down on his criticism of Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he was “sick” of the Ukrainian president as he made it “hard” to make deals. Thanks for following our coverage. This live blog is now closed. We are at that moment in Animal Farm when the gentle carthorse Clover looks through the window to see the pigs playing cards and drinking a toast with men.
The pigs are all perfectly at ease and sitting back in chairs around a table, no doubt a rougher surface than the luxurious polished table used to host America’s Marco Rubio and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia this week. The Russian press reports that the meeting was a love-fest of jokes and bonhomie, with a “very tasty lunch”.
Read the full column from Ambrose Evans-Pritchard here. Donald Trump claimed that Volodymyr Zelensky was complaining at being shut out of peace talks which took place between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia this week. He told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade:.
He complains that he’s not at a meeting. He’s been at meetings for three years … and nothing got done, so I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings, to be honest with you. He’s been there for three years. He makes it very hard to make deals.
The US President added:. Every time I say, “Oh it’s not Russia’s fault,” I always get slammed by the fake news, but I’m telling you, Biden said the wrong things, Zelensky said the wrong things, they got attacked by somebody that’s much bigger and much stronger.
But Russia could have been talked out of that so easily. Ukraine must “decide its own government”, the German chancellor has said amid pressure on Kyiv to hold elections during the war. Olaf Scholz spoke with Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call this afternoon, agreeing that “Ukraine must have a seat at the table in future peace talks”.
“Germany and Europe must stick to their own positions, namely that we won’t leave Ukraine alone and decide things over their heads and that we will ensure that Ukraine is a country that can choose its own government,” he said. Sir Keir Starmer will not challenge Donald Trump over his Ukraine comments in Washington next week, one of his key deputies has suggested, writes Simon Johnson.
Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said Sir Keir will “not chase every comment, every statement” in order to maintain good relations with the new US administration. Speaking at a fringe event at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow, Mr McFadden said “we actually can’t conduct policy” by responding to every utterance from Mr Trump and his allies.
Instead he said Sir Keir had to take “a step back from that” and consider what was in the best interests of the British people. Ukraine needs security guarantees before any potential peace negotiations, Volodymyr Zelensky has said. Speaking after a call with the prime minister of Sweden, the Ukrainian president said: “We must be absolutely clear: nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, nothing about Europe without Europe.”.
He added: “We are working on a shared vision for security guarantees. A decision must be in place before any potential negotiations begin—and Europe must be at the table. What we need is peace—just and lasting peace, not just a temporary ceasefire.”.
Shevchenko in Donetsk, south-eastern Ukraine, may at first glance seem like another rural town destined to fall into Russian hands. But below the surface lies something Ukraine will fight tooth and nail for: lithium deposits holding billions of dollars worth of critical minerals essential for electric vehicles, smartphones and modern energy systems.
Russian troops are just 10 miles away, having recently captured the town of Velyka Novosilka. But it is not just Vladimir Putin eyeing up these vast reserves. In Washington, Donald Trump has asked for “rare earths” in exchange for military aid. A deal was proposed to Kyiv but it went far beyond Ukraine’s critical minerals, and so it was rejected by Volodymyr Zelensky.
Clearly, Mr Trump isn’t happy. Ukraine “doesn’t have any cards” in talks aimed at ending the country’s war against a Russian invasion, Donald Trump has said as tensions with Kyiv continue to rise. “I’ve had very good talks with Putin, and I’ve had not such good talks with Ukraine. They don’t have any cards, but they play it tough. But we’re not going to let this continue,” Mr Trump told a gathering of US governors at the White House.
