Trump and Zelenskyy's row throws Starmer and Europe into disarray ahead of crunch weekend of Ukraine talks
1 March 2025, 07:39 | Updated: 1 March 2025, 07:41
Keir Starmer's weekend of Ukraine diplomacy has been thrown into disarray by the unprecedented argument in the White House between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Starmer will convene a gathering of European leaders at Downing Street on Sunday, aimed at planning for how to police a future Ukraine peace deal.
The Prime Minister believes such a deal will have to involve the US - and went to the White House on Thursday with the aim of securing such a commitment from Trump. Trump declined to commit.
After the meltdown in the Oval Office - in which Trump accused Zelenskyy of gambling with World War Three - hopes for unity between European nations and America on Ukraine's future lie in tatters.
Colonel Simon Diggins, a British former defence analyst, told LBC's Matthew Wright that "the European capitals yesterday after that were probably ringing all their contacts in America and saying, 'what earth is going on?'"
Downing Street signalled that Sir Keir - who has tried to position the UK as a bridge between Europe and America - had sought to smooth over relations between Ukraine and the US following the White House blowout.
A No 10 spokeswoman said the Prime Minister "retains unwavering support for Ukraine, and is doing all he can to find a path forward to a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine".
The statement from Downing Street followed a show of unity from Europe's political leaders, supporting Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen were among the leaders to express solidarity with Mr Zelensky.
The leaders are among those who will gather in London on Sunday to consider how to strengthen Ukraine's current position, with military support and increased economic pressure on Russia.
The UK wants US military assets to provide surveillance, intelligence and - potentially - warplanes providing air cover to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from launching another bid to conquer his neighbour.
But Trump said that he thinks Zelenskyy is not ready for peace - and simply wants to "fight, fight, fight", a charge that the Ukrainian president denies.
In an unprecedented series of exchanges in the Oval Office, the US president, his vice president JD Vance and Mr Zelensky all spoke over one another in raised voices.
"You're gambling with millions of people ... You're gambling with World War Three," Mr Trump said.
Mr Zelensky warned the US would "feel it in the future" if it did not continue to support Ukraine.
"Don't tell us what we're going to feel. We're trying to solve a problem," Mr Trump hit back.
Mr Vance meanwhile accused the Ukrainian leader of being "disrespectful", and both he and the US president claimed Mr Zelensky had not been thankful enough for US military aid.
LBC callers react to Trump and Zelenskyy's bust up
Plans for the two countries to sign a minerals agreement, which would see continued US military support in exchange for developing Ukraine's natural resources, were also put on hold when Mr Zelensky abruptly left the White House.
The clash came just a day after Sir Keir's visit to the US, regarded as successful because the Prime Minister's charm offensive with Mr Trump secured support for the Chagos Islands deal, and signs that he may be able to hold off US tariffs on British goods.
Mr Trump claimed his Ukrainian counterpart was "not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations" following their meeting.
"He can come back when he is ready for peace," he added on his Truth Social platform.
Mr Trump later told reporters the meeting "didn't work out exactly great", adding the Ukrainian leader wanted to "fight, fight, fight" while the US was "looking to end this death".
Trump warns Zelensky ‘you’re gambling with World War Three’
Mr Zelensky meanwhile told Fox News that he was "always very thankful" to the US, and suggested there was no need for him to apologise to President Trump as he had not done "something bad" in their exchanges.
Ukraine's president said he "of course" believed the relationship with Mr Trump could be salvaged, adding: "It is relations more than two presidents. The historical relations, strong relations between our people."
In an interview with CNN, US secretary of state Marco Rubio described the meeting as a "fiasco" and called on Mr Zelenskyy to apologise.
"There was no need for him to go in there and become antagonistic," he said.
"When you start talking about that aggressively, and the president is a deal maker, he made deals his entire life, you're not going to get people to the table.
"And so you start to perceive that maybe Zelenskyy doesn't want a peace deal. He says he does, but maybe he doesn't."
