20th Feb 2025 06:38
(Alliance News) - Keir Starmer backed Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call on Wednesday after Donald Trump claimed the Ukrainian president was "a dictator without elections".
In the call, the UK prime minister gave Zelensky his support "as Ukraine's democratically elected leader" and said it was "perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during war time as the UK did during World War Two", according to a Downing Street spokesperson.
The call followed a war of words between Trump and Zelensky, with the US president criticising his Ukrainian counterpart for postponing elections and incorrectly claiming Ukraine started the war with Russia.
Zelensky was elected as president of Ukraine in May 2019.
Elections were previously scheduled to go ahead in 2024, but they were not held as a result of martial law being in place.
Trump repeated his attacks on Zelensky when he spoke at the Future Investment Initiative Forum, an organisation run by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, in Miami on Wednesday.
"He refuses to have elections, he's slow. And the real Ukrainian polls, I mean, how can you be high when every city is being demolished? It's hard to be," he said. "Somebody said, 'oh no, his polls are good'. Give me a break. Every city is being demolished. They look like a demolition site. Every single one of them… in the meantime, we're successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia."
Trump criticised Zelensky for being "upset" that he was excluded from Ukraine-Russia peace talks when talks were held in Saudi Arabia between Russia and the US.
"He's very upset. That he wasn't invited to Saudi Arabia. But he's been working for three years. There's never been even meetings or phone calls to stop this war. It's a horrible thing now," he said.
"I love Ukraine. But Zelensky has done a terrible job. His country is shattered and millions and millions of people have unnecessarily died. And you can't bring a war to an end if you don't talk to both sides. You got to talk. They haven't been talking for three years."
Trump took to Trump Social after the speech to share a quote from Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk which said: "The President's instincts on Ukraine are absolutely right. It is really sad that so many parents have lost their sons, and so many sons their fathers in this pointless war."
He told the BBC: "I think the Russians want to see the war end, I really do. I think they have the cards a little bit, because they've taken a lot of territory. They have the cards."
When asked if he trusts that Russia wants peace, Trump said "I do".
Earlier in the day, Zelensky said Trump was living in a "disinformation space", while others have accused the president of repeating Russian talking points.
Other British political figures, including Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, also pushed back against Trump's remarks, although Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, understood to be travelling to the US, was yet to comment.
The spat between the two men comes at a delicate moment in global politics after US and Russian officials met for the first time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to begin talks aimed at brokering a peace deal in Ukraine.
Alex Younger, whose tenure as head of MI6 covered Trump's first term as president, warned that the president's comments would be "emboldening" for Vladimir Putin, adding that the Russians "probably" believed he agreed with them.
He told the BBC's Newsnight programme: "I saw this happen in Afghanistan where he gave away the biggest concessions before we even started.
"It's a strange art of the deal, honestly."
Starmer himself is expected to travel to Washington next week for talks with Trump, including on Ukraine and European security, with French President Emmanuel Macron reported to be heading to the White House in the same week.
The meeting will be Starmer's first with Trump since his inauguration as US president in January, and will see Britain attempt to balance its support for Ukraine with the need to keep the White House onside.
Meanwhile, two of Starmer's top ministers are expected to spend Thursday in talks with other allies.
Defence Secretary John Healey will continue his visit to Norway, where he has already met troops near the Russian border alongside his Norwegian counterpart Tore Sandvik.
In South Africa, Foreign Secretary David Lammy is attending a two-day meeting of G20 foreign ministers and is expected to directly criticise the Kremlin and emphasise the UK's unwavering support for Ukraine, as well as addressing other areas.
Ahead of the meeting, Lammy said: "At this precarious geopolitical moment, we must work with the widest possible coalition of countries to stand up for Ukraine, build stability in the Middle East and act urgently on Sudan and the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo)."
Russia's ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin told the BBC he believes Zelensky should hold an election and rejected the idea of foreign peacekeeping troops being allowed in Ukraine in the event of any peace deal.
Trump's comments have also sparked anger from leaders abroad.
"It is simply wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelensky democratic legitimacy," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told news outlet Der Spiegel.
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said that "the war in Ukraine must be resolved on Ukraine's terms, because the aggressor here is Russia", while Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton said: "I think President Trump has got it wrong".
"Australia should stand strong and proud with the people of Ukraine. It's a democracy, and this is a fight for civilisation. Vladimir Putin is a murderous dictator, and we shouldn't be giving him an inch," Dutton said.
By Christopher McKeon and Rachel Vickers-Price
Press Association: News
source: PA
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