Ukraine has claimed Washington asked for a news conference to be cancelled after Volodymyr Zelenskyy met a US official. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has hit out at a proposal to send UK troops to Ukraine as part of a potential peacekeeping mission. Listen to our Trump 100 podcast as you scroll.
Thursday 20 February 2025 16:18, UK
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
That’s how the president of Republicans Overseas UK said Donald Trump may view relations with Moscow.
Asked to respond to Russia’s positive reaction to Trump’s recent comments – describing Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator” – Greg Swenson told our presenter Kamali Melbourne he’s “not sure” Trump would see reasons for cheer in Moscow.
“There’s the old argument – keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” he added.
“So he’s willing to speak to Putin. Of course he is. Putin is obviously a key figure in stopping this war.”
He also said Trump has a “history of being much more aggressive against Russia” than his predecessors, so he is “looking for outcomes”.
Senior Vladimir Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev said last night he would have “laughed out loud” if he were told three months ago that a US president would make the remarks Trump has.
Media in the country has also joked which parts of Ukraine the US and Russia should carve up.
But Swenson said he isn’t concerned by Russian media.
“It just shouldn’t move the needle at all. You know, I’m always suspicious of both Chinese and Russian media. I mean, I think it’s healthy to be suspicious of anything that comes out of Moscow,” he said.
The US vice president is now speaking at a key Conservative conference.
Asked about the administration’s approach to the Ukraine war, JD Vance describes Donald Trump as the “president of peace”.
He insists Trump “leaves everything on the table” when heading into a negotiation.
He is a “very good negotiator and very good businessman”, he adds, and says he believes we are on the “cusp of peace in Europe”.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), he also adds: “How are you going to end the war if you don’t talk to Russia?”
Trump has been widely criticised for starting negotiations with Russia without Europe or Ukraine.
Sanctions relief for Russia could be on the table in talks over the Ukraine war, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has said.
In an interview on Bloomberg Television, Bessent suggested that Washington was prepared to either increase or reduce penalties based on Russia’s willingness to negotiate.
Asked about adjustments, he said: “That’d be a very good characterisation.
“The president is committed to ending this conflict very quickly.”
He also said Volodymyr Zelenskyy had assured him Ukraine would sign a $500bn deal handing over rights to rare earth minerals ahead of the Munich Security Conference, but had not signed it yet.
Zelenskyy yesterday rejected the US demands for Ukraine to repay Washington that much in mineral wealth for wartime aid, saying the US had supplied nowhere near that sum so far and offered no specific security guarantees in the agreement.
Trump’s draft deal would allow the US to take ownership of 50% of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
A little update from Moscow now.
The Kremlin has said Vladimir Putin has held a call with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
Putin expressed gratitude for organising the talks on Tuesday between Russia and US to end the war in Ukraine.
They also discussed the need to work together to maintain stability in the global oil market.
There may be signs of disunity in the G7 ahead of the third anniversary of the Ukraine war on Monday.
According to the Financial Times, the US is against calling Russia the aggressor in a statement published each year by the group.
The report cites five western officials familiar with the matter, who said Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s participation for a virtual summit on Monday had also not been agreed yet.
The words “Russian aggression” or similar descriptions have been used by G7 leaders since 2022 to describe the conflict.
In last year’s statement, the G7 – made up of the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, as well as the EU – referred to Russia’s “aggression” five times.
The FT quotes one of the officials as saying: “We are adamant that there must be a distinction made between Russia and Ukraine. They are not the same.”
This all comes as the US kicked off talks with Russia to end the war this week – discussions that have so far excluded Ukraine and Europe.
Fears the US may force Ukraine into concessions as part of the deal were further raised yesterday, when Donald Trump labelled Zelenskyy a “dictator” in a furious social media post.
According to Ukrainian media, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with the US envoy for the war Keith Kellogg.
But a Kyiv official has added a planned news conference has been cancelled at the request of Washington.
Both Kellogg and Zelenskyy were due to speak.
Kellogg’s trip to Kyiv has coincided with a public spat between Donald Trump and Zelenskyy, with the former labelling the Ukrainian a “dictator” and demanding he move “fast” before he loses his country.
This has deepened concerns that the US may force Ukraine into concessions as part of a deal to end the war, with discussions between Washington and Moscow kicking off two days ago without Europe or Kyiv.
Some comments now from the leader of Reform UK.
Trump fan Nigel Farage has defended Volodymyr Zelenskyy from the US president’s scathing remarks yesterday, which described the Ukrainian as a “dictator”.
Speaking to broadcaster GB News, Farage, who has been criticised for his silence on the issue in recent days, said “you should always take everything Donald Trump says seriously” – but not always “absolutely literally”.
“I think that applies very much in this case,” he added.
“Let’s be clear, Zelenskyy is not a dictator.”
Trump also called for Ukraine to hold elections. On this, Farage appeared to agree.
“It’s only right and proper that Ukrainians have a timeline for elections,” he said.
It’s important to note that Ukraine has been under martial law ever since Russia began its invasion.
According to Ukrainian law, it’s prohibited to hold election while under martial law.
The UK did not hold elections during the Second World War.
Europe has a “vital role” to play in security peace in Ukraine, NATO chief Mark Rutte has said at a news conference today.
Speaking from Slovakia, Rutte said it was vital that any deal made between Russia and Ukraine “brings an enduring peace” and ensure “Russia will never try to take one more square kilometre of Ukrainian land”.
He said this “will require security guarantees”.
“There is no question that Europe has a vital role to play in security peace in Ukraine,” he added.
He also said the world was “becoming more dangerous” but NATO remains ready to deter the challenges.
He said Europe will need to boost military spending to more than 3% of GDP.
The UK currently spends 2.3% of its GDP on defence.
Vladimir Putin wants to “divide” Europe and NATO, the UK’s defence secretary John Healey has warned.
Speaking at a news conference Norway, he said the continent is “stepping up security”, with Sweden and Finland joining the military alliance since Russia’s invasion began.
“We recognised in the discussions that I chaired earlier this week in NATO that we must do more, and we will,” he added.
Asked about Donald Trump’s comments – in which he labelled Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” and called for elections – Healey said he has seen the Ukrainian president’s “commitment to his country”.
“This was a man who, stuck in his country, led his country, and still does,” he added.
“He was elected. He’s the elected leader of Ukraine, and he’s done what Winston Churchill did in Britain in the Second World War, suspended elections while at war.
“And our job is to stand with the Ukrainians, support the Ukrainians, support them in their fight. And if they choose to talk, support them in the negotiations as well.”
For context: Ukraine has been under martial law since the start of the war in February 2022.
Presidential elections had been scheduled for spring 2024, but Ukrainian law prohibits parliamentary or presidential elections during a state of martial law.
US President Donald Trump branded Zelenskyy a “dictator”, saying that because of this, he has not been democratically elected.
The UK and Norway have started negotiations on a new defence pact aimed at combatting the threat from Russia, defence secretary John Healey and his Norwegian counterpart Tore Sandvik have said.
Speaking at a news conference, the pair said the new UK-Norwegian defence agreement will see closer cooperation between the two nations’ defence industries and their armed forces.
“Kickstarting work on a deep, ambitious new defence agreement with Norway shows the UK promise to step up on European security in action,” Healey said.
He said Norway “remained one of the UK’s most important allies” and the defence partnership would bring the nations “closer than ever before”.
European governments have been in crisis mode since Donald Trump made shocking statements about the war in Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Branding the Ukrainian president a “dictator” and appearing to blame Ukraine for the war, the American leader has completely shifted US foreign policy on the conflict, moving closer to Russia and Putin.
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