AN SNP MP has called for Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to Scotland to be cancelled over being a "hostile actor" towards Ukraine.
Stephen Gethins, SNP MP for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry and the party's foreign affairs spokesperson, was speaking on BBC Good Morning Scotland just days after the US president’s tense press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Gethins told presenter Lucy McManus on Monday: “If the United States is hostile to Ukraine, they should not be welcome. At the moment, we have an administration in the White House which is hostile to Ukraine.
“We know that the Trump administration is hostile to Ukraine and until it changes its tune, then we need to take a slightly more robust approach to that.
“That's disappointing given the importance of the relationship with the United States, but telling President Zelenskyy that he's the one that's got to do something about this is the wrong way to look at this.”
He continued: "Firstly, you need a hard headed approach, and that means Europe getting its act together. And secondly, you need to say to the United States, are you with us or not?
“Europe really needs to step up and do an awful lot more in terms of its own security. Not least because of Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine that threatens us all.”
It comes after Keir Starmer announced a £1.6 billion finance deal which will allow Ukraine to buy more than 5000 missiles, following a summit of European leaders in London on Sunday.
Gethins continued: “I think if you try and appeal to Trump's good side, it's not something that can be done for very long.”
“I think [the Prime Minister] is genuinely trying to do his best for Ukraine here. But I do not think that at the moment it would be appropriate [to host The President] given the United States' approach to Ukraine and that is an existential war for Ukraine and therefore has very significant implications for our own security in Scotland, the UK and in the rest of Europe as well.
“I do not think there should be a state visit if the United States is considered a hostile actor towards Ukraine. We need to pull in behind Ukraine.
“If you look at some of the daft excuses we are getting, the landscape was not wearing a suit, he was being disrespectful, this is a country that is in an existential conflict. You know, Elon Musk can wander in and out of the Oval Office without a suit, but not Zelenskyy? This was a hostile act.”
A petition to rescind Donald Trump’s invitation for a royal visit to Scotland has gathered more than 129,000 signatures online.
The campaign’s author said people should sign the petition if they believe Trump is “unfit to be celebrated with another state visit”.
Meanwhile, First Minister John Swinney has said soldiers could be deployed in Ukraine this year in a peace-keeping role.
The SNP leader backed the move in an interview on the BBC's Sunday Show where he called Donald Trump’s treatment of Volodymyr Zelenksyy “completely unacceptable”.
