US President Donald Trump has stated that French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer “haven’t done anything” to stop the war in Ukraine, ahead of their visits to the White House next week.
Trump also stated that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky held “no cards” in peace talks, adding, “I don’t think he’s very important to be in meetings.”
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the United Kingdom, France, and other allies have provided Kyiv with arms and other assistance.
On Monday, European leaders attended a crisis summit in Paris on Ukraine, a day before US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, amid concerns that Ukraine and Europe might be excluded from peace talks.
Despite his criticism of Macron and Sir Keir, Trump, in his interview with Fox News, also commended the European leaders. He claimed he considered Macron to be a “friend” and dubbed the British prime minister a “very nice guy.”
Macron is scheduled to visit Washington on Monday, while Sir Keir will be there on Thursday.
Earlier this week, the British prime minister stated that he was “ready and willing” to send UK troops to Ukraine to help ensure its security as part of a peace settlement.
The BBC has contacted the prime minister’s office for comment.
While European leaders have refused to negotiate with Russia, they have had regular meetings to address the conflict in Ukraine.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, over 20,000 sanctions have been imposed by the US, UK, EU, Australia, Canada, and Japan. Additionally, many European nations have signed agreements to support and aid Ukraine.
In January, Sir Keir signed a “landmark” pact, telling Zelensky, “We are with you not just today, for this year or the next—but for 100 years—long after this terrible war is over and Ukraine is free and thriving once again.”
Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, claimed he had “extensive and positive” discussions with Zelensky during their meeting in Kyiv on Thursday.
Kellogg lauded Zelensky as a “courageous leader” just days after Trump referred to him as a “dictator.”
Zelensky has recently spoken with a number of world leaders, all of whom have expressed a desire to see Ukraine participate in peace talks.
In his Fox interview on Friday, Trump stated that Russia and Ukraine would not want to begin peace talks without his personal involvement.
He also continued to criticise Zelensky, saying, “I’ve been watching this man for years now as his cities get demolished, as his people get killed, as his soldiers get decimated.
“I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards, and you get sick of it. You just get sick of it, and I’ve had it.”
And, after criticizing Zelensky over the last week, using talking points that observers believe sound more like they came from Moscow than Washington, Trump said “of course” he would accept a phone conversation from Ukraine’s president.
He often asserted that Zelensky was to blame for failing to prevent the war, claiming that Russia could have been “talked out” of invading Ukraine.
Speaking on Ukraine’s absence at peace talks in Saudi Arabia this week, Trump said that Russia “found it impossible to make a deal with Zelensky.”
He stated that he believed that Russia sincerely wanted a deal to end the war, but that President Vladimir Putin “doesn’t have to make a deal.”
