Donald Trump claimed Ukraine ‘shouldn’t have started it’ and could have made a deal with Vladimir Putin in an extraordinary tirade against Volodymyr Zelensky after US-Russian talks
Trump on Zelensky’s anger at being frozen out of peace talks
Putin apologist Donald Trump has blamed Ukraine for starting the war in a sinister rant met with horror across Europe.
The US President, who also attacked President Volodymyr Zelensky by claiming he doesn’t have widespread support, gave further signs his administration will capitulate to Russia. Responding to Zelensky’s anger at being frozen out of peace talks, Trump responded: “You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”
Responding to the remark, one UK Government aide simply responded to Playbook: “Jesus.” More than 46,000 Ukrainian troops have died defending the country since Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion in 2022. Talks between the US and Russia opened in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday – with Ukraine and the rest of Europe excluded.
Mr Zelensky has said he will not accept a deal that is forced on him. The cowardly Trump administration has already said that Ukrainian membership of defence bloc NATO and a return to 2014 borders is “unrealistic” – before negotiations even started.
Trump and Putin have already said they plan to visit each other’s countries, but no date has yet been set for that. The talks in Saudia Arabia – led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Kremlin Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov – were convened after Trump and Putin spoke on the phone last week.
Lavrov said he believes the US “has stated to better understand our position.” Former Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace posted on Twitter/X that the White House was spreading “fake news” about Ukraine.
He wrote: “I think what President Trump is learning is that if you have no skin in the game you don’t get to decide the fate of Ukraine. I am sure they all enjoyed their 4 hour talks today but they probably shouldn’t have wasted their time.”
In an extraordinary tirade about Mr Zelensky’s exclusion, Trump appeared to question whether he has the right to be there as leader. He claimed that the Ukrainian President has just a 4% approval rating in his country.
Leaving reporters in no doubt whose side he is on, Trump ranted: “We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we essentially have martial law,” he said. “Where the leader in the Ukraine, I hate to say it, he is down at 4% approval rating and the country has been blown to smithereens. Most of the cities are lying on their sides, buildings have collapsed it looks like a massive demolition site.”
It comes less than 24 hours after key Trump aide Elon Musk fawned over the Russian delegation arriving for talks in Riyad. He wrote: “This is what competent leadership looks like.”
And in an interview with Associated Press, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio – who is heading the US negotiating team – suggested that it was in America’s interests to cozy up to Russia. He said ending the war in Ukraine could “unlock the door” for “incredible opportunities” to partner with the Russians.
He said these “hopefully will be good for the world and also improve our relations in the long term”. And Lavrov said: “I have reason to believe that the American side has started to better understand our position.”
It comes after Keir Starmer warned that peace in Ukraine will only hold with a US security guarantee. After scrambling to an emergency summit in Paris on Monday, he said he would tell Trump next week that Putin will strike again without US support.
The Prime Minister said: “Europe must play its role, and I’m prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others if there is a lasting peace agreement.
“But there must be a US backstop, because a US security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again.”
