Donald Trump has claimed British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer ‘didn’t do anything’ to end the Ukraine war – just days before he is due to welcome the Prime Minister to the White House.
The US President lashed out at Sir Keir and France’s Emmanuel Macron amid a transatlantic spat over Mr Trump branding Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky a ‘dictator’.
Those comments riled both the British PM and French President, who hit back at Mr Trump’s attack on the Ukrainian President and doubled down on their support for Kyiv.
Mr Macron also warned Mr Trump against being ‘weak’ with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, amid fears the US President has sided with Moscow during nascent peace talks.
This comes after the Mr Trump said in an interview with Fox News he didn’t think it was ‘very important’ for Zelensky to be involved in peace talks as ‘he’s been there for three years’ and that he ‘makes it very hard to make deals’.
The American President also said Ukrainian leaders ‘don’t have any cards’ in talks aimed at ending the country’s war against a Russian invasion.
The French President has beaten Sir Keir in a diplomatic race for a meeting with Mr Trump in Washington DC, following his return to the White House last month.
Mr Macron is expected to fly to America for talks with the US President on Monday, while the PM is set to head to the US later in the week.
But, ahead of their trips to meet Mr Trump, the US President risked a fresh outbreak of tensions with Sir Keir and Mr Macron by slating their approach to Ukraine.
In an interview with Fox News, he said: “They didn’t do anything either [to end the war]. The war’s going on, no meetings with Russia, no nothing.
“They haven’t done anything. Macron is a friend of mine, and I’ve met with the Prime Minister, he’s a very nice guy… [but] nobody’s done anything.
“I’ve been watching this go on for years and I’m doing it for one reason, I hate the killing. I hate to see those young people killed.”
