PA Media/dpa
London
US President Donald Trump’s apparent change of heart about Russia is “welcome,” a senior UK minister signalled on Sunday.
Trump turned his criticism towards Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday after meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on the fringes of the pope’s funeral at the Vatican.
The Trump administration’s proposed peace agreement has raised eyebrows among allies, as it appears to benefit Moscow far more than Kiev. The deal on the table would reportedly result in large swathes of territorial concessions by Ukraine.
In a post on his Truth Social website, Trump suggested 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 Trump’s latest position.
He told broadcaster Sky News: “Certainly the tone that was adopted yesterday in terms of recognizing 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 Putin, 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.”
