The leaders of Ukraine and other European countries are expected to talk to Donald Trump on Thursday about potential future security guarantees for Kyiv, after the US president again rebuffed questions about how and when he might increase pressure on Russia to negotiate a peace deal.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy will take part in a summit in Paris on Thursday of leaders of more than 30 states that are ready to help support his country’s long-term defence when its war with Russia finally ends.
The administration of French president Emmanuel Macron said he and Mr Zelenskiy and other European leaders would talk to Mr Trump after the summit of the so-called coalition of the willing, which is loosely led by France and Britain.
Mr Trump has said the US will assist European-led efforts to safeguard Ukraine’s security after a peace deal, but would not provide troops to any peacekeeping force.
RM Block
Since returning to power in January, Mr Trump has piled pressure on Ukraine to be ready to make concessions to end the war, while repeatedly backing down from threats to get tougher on Moscow for ignoring his calls for an immediate ceasefire and for peace talks between Mr Zelenskiy and Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“I have no message to President Putin, he knows where I stand,” said Mr Trump on Wednesday as he welcomed Polish president Karol Nawrocki to the Oval Office.
“He’ll make a decision one way or the other, whatever his decision is, we will either be happy about it or unhappy and if we’re unhappy about it, you’ll see things happen,” added Mr Trump, referring to Mr Putin.
He also said: “I’m having a conversation with him very shortly, and I’ll know pretty much what we’re going to be doing.”
However, it was unclear amid a barrage of questions from the press whether he meant Mr Putin or Mr Zelenskiy.
The US president did not say what action he would take against Russia if it continued to ignore his push for peace. And he rebuked a Polish reporter who suggested he had taken “no action” to pressure Mr Putin.
Mr Trump claimed that a 50 per cent US tariff imposed on India late last month – in part for buying large quantities of Russian arms and oil – had cost Moscow “hundreds of billions of dollars”. No such steps have been taken against China, however, which is the biggest buyer of Russian energy.
“How do you know there’s no action?” said Mr Trump to the journalist from Polish radio. “You call that no action. And I haven’t done phase two yet or phase three, but when you say there’s no action, I think you ought to get yourself a new job.”
Earlier, Mr Trump took to social media to send greetings to Chinese president Xi Jinping as he hosted a huge military parade in Beijing, and asked him to “give my warmest regards” to Mr Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un – who were among the guests of honour – “as you conspire against The United States of America”.
The Kremlin – which is eager to foster good relations with Mr Trump and accuses Kyiv and other European capitals of obstructing peace efforts – quickly downplayed his comments and suggested he was “being ironic”.
“The US president has a sense of humour, that is clear,” said Mr Putin. “I can tell you, and I hope he will hear this – as strange as it may seem, over these four days [in China], during the most diverse discussions and in both informal and formal settings, no one has expressed any negative views about the current US administration.”
