Great Britain Trump wants to get closer to peace in Ukraine with Selenskyj
US President Donald Trump wants to take an important step forward in the search for a peace solution for Ukraine during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today.
28.02.2025, 05:09
SDA
"Progress towards peace will continue when President Zelensky visits the White House," said Trump in Washington. Both want to sign a long-disputed raw materials agreement that secures the USA access to rare earths and other natural resources stored in Ukraine.
Trump also sees US economic involvement in Ukraine as a safeguard for Ukraine against possible future external aggression. "I don't think anybody is playing around when we have a lot of workers there and we're dealing with rare earths that we need for our country," he said in the presence of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The framework agreement provides for the creation of a reconstruction fund for Ukraine. Ukraine is to pay 50 percent of all revenues from future raw materials projects into the fund. Security guarantees for Ukraine are only formulated as a goal that the USA wants to support. Specific financial details and obligations are to be regulated in a contract that is still to be drawn up.
Even though Trump once again ruled out Ukraine joining Nato on Wednesday, the country under attack from Russia wants to keep the USA as an ally and potential weapons supplier. Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia's war of aggression for a good three years.
Starmer: peace only with security
The British head of government Starmer took a different view to Trump regarding the necessary security guarantees for Ukraine. "The UK is prepared to deploy troops on the ground and aircraft in the air to support an agreement, in cooperation with our allies, because that is the only way peace can last." Trump did not promise to secure a peace agreement for Ukraine with his own military means.
Before the meeting with Zelenskyi, Trump also softened his tone towards the Ukrainian president. "We will get along very well," said Trump. There is a lot of mutual respect. Trump had previously insulted the Ukrainian as a dictator. This happened after Zelensky snubbed the USA and initially refused to agree to the terms of a raw materials agreement - US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent initially had to return from Ukraine without having achieved anything.
Now Trump claimed on Thursday that he could not remember his dictator statement. "Did I say that? I can't believe I said that. Next question," Trump replied when asked if he still believed that Zelensky was a "dictator".
First a ceasefire, then peace
Trump believes it is necessary to take a step-by-step approach to a peace solution for Ukraine. After the raw materials agreement, the first step should be a stable ceasefire, followed by a lasting peace. Only later could the question of peacekeeping be discussed. "I don't want to talk about peacekeeping until we have an agreement," said the Republican. On Monday, he had said that Putin would accept European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine - Moscow disagreed.
He trusted the word of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the US President. "I believe he will keep his word. (...) I've spoken to him, I've known him for a long time now." He assumed that a deal would hold. When asked by journalists whether it was likely that Putin would attack Ukraine again, Trump said: "No, I don't think so."
Trump reiterated his skepticism about Ukraine joining NATO. "It's not going to happen." On the question of returning parts of the Ukrainian territory conquered by Russia, Trump was somewhat more optimistic. "We will certainly try to get as much back as we can."
Meanwhile, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that he had had a very good conversation with Trump. The NATO allies were rapidly investing more in defense. "With regard to Ukraine, the allies are preparing billions more in aid and contributions to security guarantees," Rutte wrote on Platform X. Just over two weeks ago, Rutte announced that the European allies and Canada had provided more than 700 billion additional US dollars for defense since 2014.
