Egypt Daily News – US President Donald Trump said that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron “did nothing” to end the war in Ukraine.
Starmer and Macron are set to visit Trump separately in Washington next week, amid a growing dispute between the US president and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump has begun negotiations to end the conflict with Russia but excluded Kyiv from the talks on Tuesday. He said on the Fox News podcast that Zelenskyy “has been in meetings for three years, and nothing has been done.”
According to the British news agency PA Media, Trump said, “So, to be honest with you, I don’t think it’s very important for him to be in the meetings.”
When asked about the upcoming visits of the UK Prime Minister and the French President, he said, “They haven’t done anything either (to end the war). The war is ongoing, they haven’t held meetings with Russia, nothing.”
On Friday, the US president renewed his criticism of his Ukrainian counterpart, arguing that it is “unnecessary” for Zelenskyy to attend negotiations with Russia when he has “no leverage” in them. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy hopes for a “fair” agreement with the United States regarding his country’s strategic minerals in exchange for US support for Kyiv.
In a video message on social media, the Ukrainian president said, “Ukrainian and American teams are working on a draft agreement between our governments… I hope we reach a result, a fair result.”
At the beginning of February, the US president announced that he wanted to negotiate an agreement with Ukraine to secure access to 50% of its strategic minerals in exchange for the American aid that had been provided.
Zelenskyy rejected the US proposal, pointing out that it does not address the security guarantees his country has been seeking for three years in the face of the Russian invasion. However, he left the door open to possible US “investments” in this sector.
During an event at the White House with US state governors, Trump said, “I had very good talks with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, but my talks with Ukraine were not good. They have no leverage, but they pretend to be strong. However, we will not allow this to continue.”
On Friday, the President Trump once again refused to directly blame Russia for the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Speaking to Fox Radio, he said, “Russia attacked,” but added that Western leaders “should not have allowed it to happen.”
Later, President Trump emphasized the need for communication between Putin and Zelenskyy in order to “stop a war that is killing millions of people.”
Trump and Zelenskyy had previously exchanged unprecedented personal attacks following the U.S.-Russia talks held in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, which were the first at the foreign minister level in three years.
Since then, tensions between Kyiv and Washington have sharply escalated. Trump accused Zelenskyy of being a “dictator,” while he unexpectedly moved closer to the Kremlin, marking a dangerous turning point for Ukraine.
