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‘Free
world needs a new leader’, says EU foreign chief after Trump Zelenskyy row
The EU
foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said ‘the free world needs a new leader’ and
that it was up to Europeans to take this challenge
Nadeem
Badshah
Fri 28 Feb
2025 23.11 GMT
The EU
foreign policy chief has declared that “the free world needs a new leader”, as
European leaders threw their support behind Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr
Zelenskyy, after the stunning White House confrontation between him and Donald
Trump.
Leaders from
across Europe expressed their solidarity with the Ukrainian leader after the
fractious exchange with JD Vance, the US vice-president, and Trump, who claimed
he was not “ready for peace” and accused him of “gambling with world war
three”.
Although in
general the European leaders did not name the US president, their comments late
on Friday laid bare the gaping rift between the US and its traditional allies
in Europe over the war in Ukraine.
In a social
media post Kaja Kallas, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and
security policy, wrote: “Ukraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine. We will step
up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back the
aggressor.
“Today, it
became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans,
to take this challenge.”
Addressing
Zelenskyy directly, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU Commission,
wrote: “Your dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be
brave, be fearless. You are never alone.”
She added:
“We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace.”
The British
prime minister, Keir Starmer, who just a day before had visited Trump at the
White House, called Zelenskyy to express his support, a No 10 spokesperson
said.
Starmer –
who failed in his effort to convince Trump to commit US support for a
European-led peacekeeping force in Ukraine – told Zelenskyy that “he retains
his unwavering support for Ukraine and is playing his part to find a path
forward to a lasting peace, based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine”, the
official said.
Two days
after his own meeting with Trump in Washington the French president, Emmanuel
Macron, responded indirectly to the US president’s baseless claims that
Zelenskyy was responsible for the war, telling reporters: “Russia is the
aggressor, and Ukraine is the aggressed people … These are simple things, but
they’re good to remember at times like these.”
European
leaders had already been shaken by Vance’s speech to the Munich security
conference two weeks ago in which he lectured them about the state of their
democracy.
Italy’s
prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, called for an emergency meeting between the US,
Europe and Ukraine.
“A summit
without delay is needed between the United States, European states and their
allies to talk frankly about how we intend to tackle today’s major challenges,
starting with Ukraine, which together we have defended in recent years,” Meloni
said in a statement.
Jonas Gahr
Støre, Norway’s prime minister, described the episode as “serious and
disheartening”.
“That Trump
accuses Zelenskyy of gambling with world war three is deeply unreasonable and a
statement I distance myself from,” he said.
The Spanish
prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said his country would stand by Ukraine after
the row.
Sánchez, a
staunch backer of Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion who pledged €1bn of aid
in a visit to Kyiv earlier this week, wrote on X: “Ukraine, Spain stands with
you.”
Poland’s
prime minister, Donald Tusk, was among the first to show his support for
Zelenskyy and Ukraine on social media, telling them: “You are not alone.”
The outgoing
German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the Dutch prime minister, Dick Schoof,
Luxembourg’s prime minister, Luc Frieden, and Portugal’s prime minister, Luís
Montenegro, also professed their support for Ukraine, along with other leaders
from Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania,
Slovenia, and Sweden.
Canada’s
prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said Ukraine’s fight against Russia is a
defense of democracy.
“Russia
illegally and unjustifiably invaded Ukraine. For three years now, Ukrainians
have fought with courage and resilience. Their fight for democracy, freedom,
and sovereignty is a fight that matters to us all,” he posted on X.
“Canada will
continue to stand with Ukraine,” Trudeau added.
Some world
leaders, however, sided with Trump.
Viktor
Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, wrote on X: “Strong men make peace, weak men
make war.
“Today
President @realDonaldTrump stood bravely for peace. Even if it was difficult
for many to digest. Thank you, Mr. President!”
Orbán, an
outspoken critic of western aid to Ukraine, has been at odds with other Nato
countries over Orbán’s continued cultivation of close ties to Russia.
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