The US president’s boastful declaration comes amid separate, misleading claims over the amount of financial aid that the States has given to Ukraine compared to Europe
In a joint press conference with Emmanuel Macron, Donald Trump repeated a claim he has made frequently that had he been president three years ago, the war between Ukraine and Russia would never have broken out.
The US leader then continued his argument that Europe, rather than the States, should be responsible for ensuring Ukraine’s security. Again, Trump made misleading comments regarding the financial contributions of the US and Europe towards Ukraine’s defence.
He claimed that America had spent £277billion, while Europe had spent only £79million. However, data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy reveals that Europe has actually allocated £109billion, while the US has spent £94billion.
However, such false claims regarding American spending have formed the basis of Trump’s demand that Ukraine pay upwards of £395billion to the States as part of a minerals agreement still being negotiated. In a diplomatic move, Macron offered some flattery while inside the White House, commending Trump for his collaboration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the rare minerals agreement.
“No one in this world wants to live in a world where it’s the law of the strongest and international borders can be violated from one day to the next,” he said. The sentiment, however, has not been echoed by Trump, who, although speaks of striking deals, refrained from condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Macron then moved to emphasise shared goals between the two leaders. “We have the same wish, peace as soon as possible,” he said.
The French president referenced two broken ceasefire deals that followed Russia’s original invasion of Ukraine in 2014, which were negotiated in Minsk, Belarus. Meanwhile, Trump expressed confidence that no major issues would arise if a deal could be reached.
Macron made it clear that “this peace must not mean a surrender of Ukraine” and should come with firm guarantees of Ukraine’s security. Trump did not include security guarantees in any potential agreement.