.png)
23 hours ago
2
ARTICLE AD BOX
THE White House has slammed Ukraine’s attitude to a frustrated President Trump as tensions continue to rise and Europe plays mediator.
A press conference was held by the White House on Thursday afternoon just hours after the US cancelled a joint briefing with President Zelensky at the last minute after tense talks in Kyiv.
Getty
Getty
Reuters
But, the latest comments coming from Washington show that there is no sign of eased tensions and unity after Trump branded Zelensky a “dictator” and Kyiv slammed his attempts at peace talks with Russia.
Trump sparked uproar on Wednesday after lashing out at Ukraine’s wartime leader and accusing him of “refusing to have elections”.
In a shocking rant on Truth Social, Trump warned that Zelensky must “move fast or he is not going to have a country left” leaving fellow world leaders agog at the further crumbling of diplomatic relations.
Mike Waltz, the White House national security adviser spoke to reporters at Thursday’s press conference, highlighting Trump’s frustrations and accusing Ukraine of insulting America.
He said: “Trump’s goal is to bring this war to an end. Period.
“His frustration with President Zelensky is multi fold – one, there needs to be a deep appreciation for what the American people, the American taxpayer, Trump did in his first term and what we have done since.
“Some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, and frankly, insults to President Trump are unacceptable.
“Our own Secretary of Treasury personally made the trip to offer Ukrainians what can only be described as a ‘historic opportunity’ that is for America to co-invest in Ukraine in their minerals, in their resources to truly grow the pie.
“There are tremendous resources there and not only is that long-term security for Ukraine, not only do we help them grow the pie with investments but we do have an obligation to the American taxpayer and helping them recoup the hundreds of billions that have occurred.
“Rather than enter into some constructive conversations about what that deal should be going forward, we got a lot of rhetoric in the media that is incredibly unfortunate.”
He added that the Ukrainian president “needs to come back to the table” to continue discussions about the minerals deal with Washington for providing aid during the war.
Waltz had previously told Fox News that pushback on the deal and how Trump is conducting peace talks is “simply unacceptable”.
As European leaders scramble to claw back US support for Ukraine, the White House has said it is welcoming their security guarantees for the war-torn country.
After Trump held peace negotiations with Russia in Saudi Arabia, western leaders were left reeling after being frozen out of talks and an emergency meeting was held in Paris.
The UK and France have since suggested a peacekeeping plan that PM Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are set to propose to Trump in Washington next week.
English (US)