The Telegraph: British Prime Minister persuaded Zelensky to reconcile with Trump

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has persuaded Volodymyr Zelensky to "extend an olive branch" to the US President Donald Trump after a row in the Oval Office.

This is reported by The Telegraph.

According to media reports, Starmer spoke to Zelensky on March 4 to deliver the "hard truth". He gave advice that Trump needed to hear before talks resumed.

Shortly after the conversation, the Ukrainian president released a statement supporting the “strong leadership” of the American president. Zelensky expressed gratitude for the military assistance to Kyiv and added that he was “regretful” that the meeting with Trump did not go according to plan.

The Ukrainian presidentʼs offer of a ceasefire came less than a day after reports that the US had allegedly suspended military aid to Ukraine. Starmer spoke by phone with Trump on March 3.

A government source said British officials had been in talks with the US “all day at various levels” on Tuesday, trying to help resolve the conflict with Zelensky.

“It’s not just about calls. It’s mostly one continuous conversation,” the anonymous source told the publication.

London is concerned that Zelenskyʼs message may not be enough as Washingtonʼs position becomes tougher, The Telegraph writes.

Trump and Zelenskyʼs dispute

During a meeting at the White House on February 28, Zelensky and Trump began to argue and escalated their conversation. It all started with the Ukrainian presidentʼs words about the need to provide Ukraine with security guarantees and actively include Kyiv in the negotiation process.

After that, the journalists left the meeting, and later it became known that the President of Ukraine had left the White House early. Trump said that the President of Ukraine was not ready for peace. The countries did not sign the agreement on Ukrainian minerals.

After that, the US administration stated that Zelensky should apologize for his behavior to Trump. There was no public announcement of US-Ukrainian contacts after February 28.

• On the morning of March 4, Trump, as Bloomberg writes, ordered the suspension of all military aid to Kyiv — thus increasing the pressure on Zelensky after their dispute.
• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that Washington had stopped the delivery of military aid to Ukraine across the Polish border. According to CNN, despite this, the US continued to share intelligence with Ukraine.
• Later, Zelensky instructed the Ukrainian Defense Minister, intelligence chiefs, and diplomats to obtain official information from the United States about the suspension of military aid.

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