Trump says that starmer and Macron ‘did nothing’ to end the Ukraine war

US President Donald Trump said that French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer “have done nothing” to end the war in Ukraine, prior to their visits to the White House next week.

Trump also said that the Ukrainian President Volodyymyr Zensky had “no cards” in peace negotiations, and added: “I don’t think he is very important to be in meetings.”

Since the full invasion of Russia in Ukraine in 2022, the UK, France and other allies have provided Kiev with weapons and other help.

On Monday, European leaders held a crisis in Paris on Ukraine – one day before the American Russian discussions in Saudi Aarabia, and amidst the fear that Ukraine and Europe could be excluded from peace negotiations.

Despite his criticism of Macron and Sir Keir, Trump also praised European leaders in his interview with Fox News. He said he regarded Macron as a “friend” and called the British Prime Minister a “very nice guy”.

Macron is expected to visit Washington DC on Monday, while Sir Keir will be there on Thursday.

Earlier this week the British Prime Minister said he was “Ready and prepared” to put British troops on the ground In Ukraine to help guarantee safety as part of a peace agreement.

The BBC has contacted the PM’s office for comment.

Although European leaders have excluded them to negotiate with Russia, they have regularly gathered to discuss the war in Ukraine.

Since the invasion of Russia in Ukraine, the US, the UK and the EU, together with countries such as Australia, Canada and Japan, have imposed more than 20,000 sanctions on Russia.

Many European countries have also signed agreements to support and help Ukraine.

In January Sir Keir signed a “milestone” pact and he told Zensky: “We are not only with you, not only today, for this year or the next – but for 100 years – long after this terrible war is over and Ukraine one times free is again. “

Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg said that he had had “extensive and positive” discussions with Zensky on Thursday during their meeting in Kiev in Kiev.

Kellogg praised Zensky as a “courageous leader” – just a few days after Trump called him a “dictator”.

In recent days, Zensky has made phone calls with different world leaders, who have expressed their dedication to ensure that Ukraine is involved in peace talks.

Trump, in his Fox interview on Friday, said that Russia and Ukraine would not want to start peace talks without his own personal involvement.

He also continued to criticize Zolensky and said: “I have been watching this man for years while his cities are being broken down while his people are killed while his soldiers are decimated.

“I have not seen him negotiate with cards. He has no cards and it makes you sick. It just makes you sick, and I have had it.”

And after criticizing Zensky in the past week – with the help of points of talks that analysts say that sounding more like they are in Moscow than Washington DC – Trump offered that “of course” he would make a phone call from the President of Ukraine.

He stated several times that Zensky was to blame for not having prevented the war and said that Russia could have been “pronounced” of the invading of Ukraine.

Asked about the absence of Ukraine during peace talks in Saudi Aarabia this week, Trump said that Russia “thought it was impossible to close a deal with Zensky”.

He said he believed that Russia sincerely wanted a deal to end the war, but that President Vladimir Putin “does not have to close a deal.”

The American vice-president JD Vance later returned to critics who said that Trump’s position in relation to Russia descended on “reconciliation”.

“We are negotiating to end the conflict. It is only ‘reconciliation’ if you think the Ukrainians have a credible path to victory. They don’t do that, so it is not,” he said in a post on X.

In the meantime, Kyiv and Washington seemed closer to signing a deal that would give American rights to the deposits of rare earth minerals of Ukraine.

Trump has styled this as a way for Ukraine to repay the US for his earlier military support. On Friday he told reporters that the US and Ukraine “had been signed quite close to the deal, adding that the US would” get our money back “.

In a video address late on Friday, Zensky said that Ukrainian and American teams were working on a draft agreement, which can “add value to our relationships”. But he emphasized that “what is the most important thing, the details is good”.

The Ukrainian president had rejected the first American proposal a few days ago and said that he “cannot sell our state”.

White House Security Advisor Mike Waltz said on Friday that Zensky would “sign that deal”.