Trump turns on Starmer and allies in new Ukraine tirade

David Maddox, Tribune News Service

Donald Trump criticised European leaders including Sir Keir Starmer on Monday, deriding their weekend talks over Ukraine and launching a furious new attack on Volodymyr Zelensky for saying a peace deal is still “very, very far away”. In what could be a major setback in ending Russia’s war on Ukraine, the US president fired off a tirade just as the prime minister was on his feet in the Commons insisting America was vital, sincere and indispensable in the path to peace. Sir Keir rejected calls from MPs for Britain to shun Trump and America after last week’s extraordinary ambush on Zelensky in the White House Oval Office.

However, just hours before Trump paused all military aid to Ukraine, the president said in a social media post: “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer! This guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing.”

And in a sideswipe at Sir Keir and other European leaders, he added: “In the meeting they had with Zelensky, (they) stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US — probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?” Later on Monday night, Trump warned Zelensky “won’t be around very long” if he did not end the war soon. At a press conference at the White House, Trump told reporters: “The deal could be made very fast. It should not be that hard a deal to make. Now, maybe somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, and if somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long.”

It was a deepening of the diplomatic crisis that began on Friday when Zelensky was asked to leave the White House after being bullied in front of the world’s media by Trump and vice-president JD Vance. Sir Keir has attempted to act as a bridge between America and Europe, hosting a summit of 19 leaders, including EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Nato chief Mark Rutte on Sunday. But he appears to be at odds with the French president Emmanuel Macron about the “coalition of the willing” that Britain and France are meant to lead.

When he came to the House of Commons to outline his proposals, the prime minister received praise for his diplomacy but also a number of awkward questions about his support for Trump. The SNP and Tory shadow minister Alicia Kearns called for the invitation from the King for a second state visit — which Sir Keir brandished at the White House last week — to be rescinded. The prime minister rejected those demands and warned MPs that any solution to Ukraine and European security would need to be achieved by working “more closely” with the US president. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the UK needs to “reduce our dependency on the United States” as he fears “that President Trump is not a reliable ally with respect to Russia”. He told the Commons: “We’ve entered a new era, one where the United States prefers to align itself with tyrants like Putin rather than its democratic partners. We need to reduce our dependency on the United States because I say with deep regret that I fear that President Trump is not a reliable ally with respect to Russia.”

Trump’s decision to halt aid to Ukraine will see more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition for Ukraine that’s been ordered or is in the production process put on hold. It will also halt hundreds of millions of dollars of arms tied to the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, in which Ukraine uses US funds to buy gear from American defense firms, The New York Times reported, and raises questions about intelligence sharing between the two countries. But Sir Keir said: “I welcome the understanding from our dialogue that our two nations will work together on security arrangements for a lasting peace in Ukraine. I also welcome the president’s continued commitment to that peace, which nobody in this House should doubt for a second is sincere.” He added: “Our defence, our security, our intelligence are completely intertwined, no two countries are as close as our two countries and it’d be a huge mistake at a time like this to suggest that any weakening of that link is the way forward for security and defence in Europe.”

He also avoided answering a question about Britain’s ambassador to the US, Lord Mandelson, making statements in support of Mr Trump that defence minister Luke Pollard said did not reflect government policy. The diplomat claimed that Mr Trump’s mineral deal initiative to end the war was “the only show in town”. Sir Keir said: “The plan is clear, we’re working, particularly with the French, I’ve had extensive conversations with President Macron over the last week, intensively over the weekend, talking to Ukraine as well, those are going on at the moment.” In a further clash, he accused Nigel Farage of “fawning over Putin” when the Reform UK leader asked him how many British troops would be stationed in Ukraine. The prime minister also faced a backlash from senior Labour MPs over his decision to cut the overseas aid budget to fund an increase in defence spending.