Starmer gives support to ‘democratically elected’ Zelensky after Trump tirade
Sir Keir Starmer has spoken to Volodymyr Zelensky to express support for him “as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader” after Donald Trump claimed he was a “dictator”.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the Prime Minister had called Mr Zelensky on Wednesday evening and said it was “perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during war time as the UK did during World War Two”.
The call follows a day in which Mr Zelensky had traded barbs with Mr Trump, leading the US president to post a diatribe on his social media site, TruthSocial, in which he claimed his Ukrainian counterpart was “a dictator without elections”.
Earlier, Mr Trump had suggested that Ukraine had started the current conflict in Russia, and falsely claimed Mr Zelensky had an approval rating of 4%.
In response, Mr Zelensky said Mr Trump was living in a “disinformation space”.
‘Trump’s lies’
Other UK figures have also hit out at Mr Trump’s comments, with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch saying Mr Zelensky was “the democratically elected leader of Ukraine who bravely stood up to (Vladimir) Putin’s illegal invasion”.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said Mr Trump’s comments “must be where the line is drawn” and hoped “the whole political spectrum” in the UK would “speak with one voice in opposition to Trump’s lies”.
The Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister spoke to President Zelensky this evening and stressed the need for everyone to work together.
“The Prime Minister expressed his support for President Zelensky as Ukraine’s democratically elected leader and said that it was perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during war time as the UK did during World War 2.”
Mr Zelensky was elected as president of Ukraine in May 2019.
Elections were previously scheduled to go ahead in 2024, but they were not held as a result of martial law being in place.
The UK held no general election between 1935 and 1945, with the outbreak of war in 1939 causing the election due by the following year to be postponed.
Sir Keir’s call with Mr Zelensky comes as the Prime Minister prepares to head to Washington next week for his first meeting with Mr Trump since his inauguration in January.
That meeting will see Britain attempt to balance support for Ukraine with the need to keep the White House onside.
The Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir had “reiterated his support for the US-led efforts to get a lasting peace in Ukraine that deterred Russia from any future aggression” during his call with Mr Zelensky.
Earlier this week, Washington and Moscow began talks to broker peace in Ukraine, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
Ukraine was not invited to the talks, which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Mr Zelensky has said his country will not accept a deal concluded in its absence.
Support
Meanwhile, the UK has continued to stress its support for Ukraine, with Defence Secretary John Healey telling journalists on a visit to Norway that European allies should put “maximum pressure” on Mr Putin to ensure he would “negotiate seriously”.
On Monday, the Prime Minister attended a meeting in Paris with other European leaders to discuss both Ukraine and regional security, and called for the US to provide a security “backstop” to any peace agreement.
Sir Keir has also committed to consider sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as part of a deal, although other European nations have resisted discussing the possibility.
Following the call, Mr Zelensky said the UK’s role in European defence was “important for us” and his country would “never forget the respect the British people have shown for Ukraine and our citizens”.
His conversation with Sir Keir came amid a busy day of diplomacy in which he also spoke to French president Emmanuel Macron and Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte as he prepared to meet Mr Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, General Keith Kellogg, on Thursday.
Mr Zelensky said: “It is crucial that this discussion – and our overall co-operation with the US – remains constructive.
“Together with America and Europe, peace can be more secure, and that is our goal. But most importantly, this goal must be shared by our partners, not just by us.”
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It’s desperately disappointing that this ‘trumped-up’ buffoon doesn’t recognise what an incredible statesman Zelensky is. The world order has shifted tenfold in the last few years, but by god, I’ve been grateful that Zelensky has held firm and lead this ‘proxy’ war against such a potent aggressor as Russia.
History repeats! Between 1914-1917; 1939-1942, despite the praise they laud apon themselves as being the saviours of democracy and the free world, let us not forget that for years in both conflicts, whilst the best of Europe bled, the US sat idly by. History repeats…
Trump is jealous of the respect Zelensky has across Europe. Furthermore he got Trump impeached in his first term because he wouldn’t go after Biden’s son. If Zelensky is a dictator then what does that make Putin? What does that make Netanyahu, after all Republicans are more than keen to fund Israel?
What is worse – not holding elections because your country is at war, or trying to overturn a legitimate election by force and lies?
Trump tried to manufacture dirt on Biden, he tried to strong arm Zelenski on it. One of the people responsible for the laptop con was in court recently? But trump hoards state secrets and showing them off at mar a lago, and one file he took resulted in networks going dark (the words I read, I assume they are dead).
But but but but her emails……
Her factories and shipyards were anything but idle,… just as well
Starmer should stay home. There is nothing to be gained by going to Trump. He looks weak but visiting him.
All the stories and claims made a few years back regarding Trump and alleged ‘russian links’ appear to becoming horribly true this week. Indeed the white house couldnt be more accomodating to Russia over Ukraine at the moment if Vladimir Putin himself was its occupant. But at least govts in europe – the slow witted uk govt included – now appear to be waking up to the grim reality that Trump is firmly in the Russian camp on Ukraine.
Trump ran away from the draft and Zelensky asked for more ammo and fought the invader for years. I expect trump would have been on the first private jet outta the US has the same happened to him.
Best thing the PM can do now is cancel the trip. Don’t deal with dictators. The Oswald Mosleys of the UK, marginalise them and remind them what they support.
You want to see what the dictator in the US is doing with jobs. He is gutting them.
I never expected to find myself saying this, but it now seems to me that the UK, and indeed Europe as a whole, should now begin to regard the USA after the return of Trump as a hostile state.
Arguably, perhaps, even more of a hostile state than Putin’s Russia is, and a more immediately hostile state than is China – a vast country with a powerful economy, for sure, but – so far! – not showing any great interest in the small nations of Europe half a world away.
Not forgetting that brexit was a massive win for putin. And who was UK’s loudest proponent…..
Agree completely.