WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump ordered a “pause” in U.S. aid to Ukraine on Monday after a disastrous meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
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The unexpected measure would be an attempt by the Trump-Musk government to pressure Ukraine to enter peace talks with Russia.
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Why did Trump “pause” aid to Ukraine?
A White House official indicated that Trump “is focused on reaching a peace agreement” to end more than three years of war caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and wants Zelensky to “commit” to that goal. He also said that Washington is “taking a pause and reviewing” its aid to “ensure that it is contributing to a solution”.
In the lead-up to his 2024 electoral victory, Trump promised to quickly end the war in Ukraine. He has expressed growing frustration with Zelensky while showing a closer affinity to the Russian government of Vladimir Putin. In fact, Trump has stated that Putin can be trusted.
How the Crisis Between Trump and Ukraine Escalated
Hours earlier on Monday, Trump criticized Zelensky for suggesting that the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine is likely “It is still very, very far away”.
The comments come as prominent Trump allies intensify pressure on Zelensky to change his approach toward the President of the United States, who has made the swift conclusion of the war one of his priorities, or to step aside.
The long and complicated relationship between the leaders has reached a low point after a disastrous meeting at the White House in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance cornered Zelensky for not being sufficiently “grateful” for the support from the United States to Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion in February 2022.
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!”, said Trump in a post on his platform Truth Social about the comments that the Ukrainian president made on Sunday night while speaking with reporters in London.
Later on Monday during an event at the White House, Trump once again referred to Zelensky’s comments and assured that “it better not be right.”
“If someone doesn’t want to reach an agreement, I think that person won’t be in that position for much longer,” he added. “That person won’t be listened to for much longer.”
Trump disagreed with Zelensky’s suggestion that it would take time to reach an agreement to end the war. The Ukrainian leader also tried to offer a positive perspective on the relationship between the United States and Ukraine following last week’s meeting at the White House.
When a reporter asked about the ideas of a new European initiative to end Russia’s war, Zelensky said: “We are talking about the first steps today, and so until they are on paper, I would not like to talk about them in great detail”.
“An agreement to end the war is still a long, long way off, and no one has started all these steps yet,” agregó.
But Trump became even more irritated by Zelensky’s suggestion that it will take time for the conflict to come to an end.
“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. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia”, added Trump in his post. “What are they thinking?”.
Zelensky turned to social media shortly after Trump’s latest criticism. He did not directly refer to the comments but emphasized that “it is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive in order to end this war as soon as possible.”
“We need a real peace and the Ukrainians want it more because the war ruins our cities and towns,” added Zelensky. “We are losing our people. We need to stop the war and guarantee security.”
The national security advisor of Trump said that Zelensky’s stance during the Friday conversations in the Oval Office “left in the air” whether he is someone the United States administration will be able to deal with in the future.
“Is he ready, personally, politically, to move his country toward an end to the fighting?” Mike Waltz said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” Monday morning. “And is he able and willing to make the necessary compromises?”
It was planned for Washington and Ukrainian officials to sign an agreement during Zelensky’s visit last week, which would have given the United States access to Ukraine’s critical minerals, partly to pay for more than 180 billion dollars in aid that the United States has sent to Kiev since the beginning of the war.
The signing was canceled after talks in the Oval Office derailed and White House officials asked Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation to leave.
However, Trump hinted on Monday that he has not abandoned the economic pact, calling it “a great deal.” He added that he hoped to speak about the agreement during his Tuesday speech before a joint session of Congress.