Trump’s apparent change of heart on Russia ‘welcome’, says senior minister
Donald Trump’s apparent change of heart about Russia is “welcome”, a senior UK minister has signalled.
The US president turned his criticism towards Vladimir Putin on Saturday after meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on the fringes of the Pope’s funeral in Rome.
Images of the encounter within the Vatican showed the two leaders locked in intense discussion in their first meeting since a fraught clash in the White House in late February.
The Trump administration’s proposed peace agreement has raised eyebrows among allies, as it appears to benefit Moscow far more than Kyiv.
The deal on the table would reportedly result in large swathes of territorial concessions by Ukraine, something which Mr Zelensky has insisted he will not accept.
Mr Trump continued his criticism of Mr Zelensky’s position on Saturday, describing the prospect of Ukraine regaining occupied Crimea as ridiculous.
But in an apparent change of heart, he also turned his fire towards Russia.
In a post on his Truth Social website, he suggested Mr Putin maybe “doesn’t want to stop the war”, and that the Russian leader could be “just tapping me along”.
New sanctions could be placed on Russia, the US president suggested.
Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was the first senior UK minister to publicly comment on Mr Trump’s latest position.
He told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “Certainly the tone that was adopted yesterday in terms of recognising the consequences of Russian aggression was right, was welcome.
“This is a war of Russian aggression, so I hope that president Trump and his administration can bring the parties together in a way that stops the fighting and gets a lasting peace.”
Asked if he thought there had been a change of mind in the White House about Mr Putin, Mr McFadden said: “Well, you know those words speak for themselves. There’s certainly no reason for President Putin to be ordering strikes on civilian areas in Ukraine.”
The minister was also pressed about whether the UK would support Ukraine conceding territory to Russia in a peace deal.
“This is for Ukraine to decide, not for the UK Government to decide if that’s on the table,” he said.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who served in the previous government, described Mr Trump’s comments as “definitely a sign of progress”.
She said it was “really heartening” to see the US president speaking to Mr Zelensky in the Vatican on Saturday “after that really awful press conference”, adding: “I think we should all be pleased to see these positive signals.”
Press Association.