US President Donald Trump has intensified his attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and criticised moves by European leaders to rally around Ukraine’s leader.
European countries, led by the UK and France, are looking at options for a proposal to halt Russia’s war on Ukraine after last week’s Oval Office rupture between Trump and Zelenskyy.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a summit of European leaders in London on Sunday and said they had agreed to draw up a Ukraine peace plan to present to the US.
“There are clearly a number of options on the table,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman said on Monday.
France, Britain and potentially other European countries have offered to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire – something Moscow has already rejected – but say they would want support from the US, or a “backstop”.
Trump has reversed US policy by opening talks with Moscow over the head of Ukraine and without consulting its other Western allies. On Friday, he publicly harangued Zelenskyy to fall in line.
On Monday, he slammed Zelenskyy on after the Ukrainian leader told the Associated Press news agency that the end of the Russia-Ukraine war could still be “far, far away”.
In a post on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns, Trump said it was “the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!”
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S.”
Zelenskyy says that any ceasefire must include explicity security guarantees from Western countries to ensure that Russia, which invaded Ukraine three years ago and holds about 20 percent of its land, does not attack again. Trump has refused to give any such guarantees.
After Trump’s post on Monday, Zelenskyy said Kyiv would engage in substantive diplomacy to bring to a rapid end the three-year-old war with Russia, and he hoped to be able to rely on US support in securing peace.
“It is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
“We are working together with America and our European partners and very much hope for U.S. support on the path to peace. Peace is needed as soon as possible,” he added.
In an interview given on his way to the summit, Macron raised the possibility of a one-month ceasefire, although so far there has been no public endorsement from other allies.
“Such a truce on air, sea and energy infrastructure would allow us to determine whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is acting in good faith when he commits to a truce,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said of Macron’s proposal.
“And that’s when real peace negotiations could start.”
Asked if he was aware of the plan raised by Macron, Zelenskyy said: “I’m aware of everything.”
European countries are adjusting to what some leaders describe as the biggest policy reversal since World War II from Washington – especially after Friday’s bust-up, when Zelenskyy left the White House abruptly after a dressing down in front of cameras by Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.
The Ukrainian leader had been in Washington to sign a deal to give the United States access to Ukrainian minerals, but left without signing it.
Speaking to Fox News, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said Zelenskyy should apologise.
“What we need to hear from President Zelenskiy is that he has regret for what happened, he’s ready to sign this minerals deal and that he’s ready to engage in peace talks,” Waltz said.
“I don’t think that’s too much to ask. We’ll see what happens in the next 48 hours, but we are certainly looking to move forward in a positive way.”
European leaders have agreed they must spend more on defence to show Trump the continent can protect itself. The European Union is due to hold an emergency summit on Thursday.
Reporting from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford said that Ukrainians are bracing for uncertain times ahead.
“They would have been buoyed by the level of support expressed by European leaders in London yesterday, but they are also aware there are a whole lot of hurdles yet that need to be overcome before we see anything real and concrete in terms of stopping the fighting in Ukraine,” Stratford said.
“It’s all key on whether the US will agree to security guarantees both around this plan that Europe has and with respect to the minerals deal as well,” he added.
