Published February 20,2025
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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed Volodymyr Zelensky in a telephone name on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump claimed the Ukrainian president was “a dictator withoutelections.”
In the decision, the UK prime minister gave Zelensky his assist “as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader” and mentioned it was “perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during war time as the UK did during World War Two,” based on a Downing Street spokesperson.
The name adopted a disagreement between Trump and Zelensky, with the US president criticising his Ukrainian counterpart for suspending elections and incorrectly claiming Ukraine began the struggle with Russia.
Zelensky was elected as president of Ukraine in May 2019.
Elections in Ukraine have been beforehand scheduled to go forward in 2024, however they weren’t held on account of martial legislation being in place.
Earlier within the day, Zelensky mentioned Trump was residing in a “disinformation space,” whereas others have accused the US president of repeating Russian speaking factors.
Other British political figures, together with Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat chief Ed Davey, additionally pushed again towards Trump’s remarks, though Reform UK chief Nigel Farage, understood to be travelling to the United States, was but to remark.
The spat between the 2 males comes at a fragile second in world politics after US and Russian officers met for the primary time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to start talks geared toward brokering a peace deal in Ukraine.
Alex Younger, whose tenure as head of MI6 coated Trump’s first time period as president, warned that the president’s feedback can be “emboldening” for Russian President Vladimir Putin, including that the Russians “probably” believed he agreed with them.
He informed the BBC’s Newsnight programme: “I saw this happen in Afghanistan where he gave away the biggest concessions before we even started.
“It’s an odd artwork of the deal, truthfully.”
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.
UK 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, UK 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 second, we should work with the widest doable coalition of nations to face up for Ukraine, construct stability within the Middle East and act urgently on Sudan and the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo).”
Source: www.anews.com.tr