US President Donald Trump, in a White House briefing with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, the 27th of February, said he could not believe that he had called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator”, distancing himself from the comment, and said the mineral deal with Ukraine was the security guarantee Kyiv needed against Russia, ignoring the British Prime Minister’s plea for US military support, according to The Kyiv Independent and Reuters.
On the 19th of February, Trump called Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections”, falsely accusing him of refusing to hold elections and repeating the Kremlin narrative of Zelenskyy’s illegitimacy.
“Did I say that? I can’t believe I would say that.” Trump responded to a question on whether he still considers Zelenskyy a “dictator”, adding that he has good relations with the Ukrainian leader.
BNN already reported that on the 25th of February the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a resolution confirming the legitimacy of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian constitution prohibits elections during martial law, which has been in force since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Asked about the possible longevity of a peace agreement with Russia, Trump expressed confidence that any agreement reached by his administration would hold.
“I’m confident that if we reach an agreement, it will hold,” he said, adding that securing Ukraine’s long-term stability after a deal is reached will be “the easy part”.
Before the meeting, Starmer said that without strong US security guarantees, long-term peace in Ukraine was impossible, but Trump rejected this argument.
“We are a backstop because we will be there, we will work [there]” on the basis of the economic partnership, Trump said. “A lot of our people will be there.”
Asked whether he could trust Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump replied: “Trust and verify”, referring to former US President Ronald Reagan’s views on negotiations with the Soviet Union.
He said he did not believe that Putin, who invaded Ukraine in 2014 and 2022, would do so again after an agreement. He said that negotiations on such an agreement were proceeding quickly.
“It’s either going to happen pretty soon or it’s not going to happen at all,” Trump said.
He said that not every deal would work, underlining European concerns that a hasty peace deal with Russia could lead to further instability in Europe.
“We have to get this right,” he said at a joint press conference with Trump. “It cannot be a peace that rewards the aggressor.”
Stermer is the latest European leader to meet Trump after French President Emmanuel Macron arrived at the White House on Monday for a friendly meeting that also saw sharp disagreements over Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Zelensky is expected to arrive in Washington on Friday to sign a deal with Trump on minerals. Trump is presenting the deal as a way to reclaim American money that has been spent on Ukraine. It does not include any security guarantees for Kyiv.
Starmer has signalled that Britain will increase defence spending and tried to persuade the US President that Europe will provide support and security guarantees for Kyiv if the peace talks with Russia are successful.
On Thursday, Trump reaffirmed the US’ long-standing commitment to mutual defence between NATO countries even if European peacekeepers end up in Ukraine, saying “I support that. I don’t think we’ll have any reason to do that.”
Putin on Thursday warned “Western elites” against trying to sabotage the Russia-US rapprochement, saying Moscow would use its diplomats and intelligence services to thwart such efforts. These remarks were an obvious reference to the European Union and Britain.
Starmer has said that British troops could provide security guarantees to Ukraine, but only in conjunction with other European countries and “under appropriate conditions”.