Ukraine relying on Starmer to 'heal wound' between Zelenskyy and Trump, country's ex-PM says after 'catastrophe'
1 March 2025, 11:28 | Updated: 1 March 2025, 11:33
Ukraine's former Prime Minister has said his country needs Keir Starmer and other European leaders to act as a go-between for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump after their catastrophic meeting.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Arseniy Yatsenyuk told LBC's Matt Frei that Ukraine needed Sir Keir, Emmanuel Macron, the likely next German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italy's Giorgia Meloni to "heal the wound" between the two leaders after their spat on Friday.
The meeting broke down as Mr Trump and his vice-president JD Vance rounded on Mr Zelenskyy after he warned of the dangers of diplomacy with Vladimir Putin.
Mr Trump accused Mr Zelenskyy of gambling with World War Three, while Mr Vance urged him to be more grateful for the huge amounts of military support the US has given Ukraine.
It comes ahead of a Downing Street meeting between Mr Zelenskyy and Sir Keir on Sunday, before a meeting of European leaders on the same day.
Zelenskyy meeting was 'a trap' set up by Trump, says Matt Frei
Mr Yatsenyuk said that "we need urgently to undertake enormous efforts to have Americans back on track."
He told Matt: "We are in a crisis mode. Whether we can lose Americans - yes, we can, okay. Whether we want to lose them - no, we don't."
The Trump-Zelenskyy meeting came a day after a positive encounter between Sir Keir and Mr Trump, although the British side appeared not to achieve their primary aim of getting the US to provide a military 'backstop' in the event of a Ukraine ceasefire.
Asked how the US could be brought back onside, Mr Yatsenyuk said: "it's a billion dollar question...
"And let me put it this way. I believe that we need urgently to put together a team of envoys and negotiators. And I rely on your Prime Minister. He did well during the last visit to D.C."
The White House meltdown: What next?
Mr Yatsenyuk added that French President Mr Macron, likely next Chancellor of Germany Mr Merz, Italian Prime Minister Ms Meloni and General Secretary of NATO Mark Rutte could "form a negotiating team in order to heal the wound and to repair the damage that has been done in our bilateral relations."
He said that the leaders would have to set out clear red lines that Ukraine would never cross in any ceasefire deal.
He said these were that "Ukraine will never legitimise any kind of illegal occupation of Ukrainian territories committed by the war criminal Putin," that "Ukraine will never buy the Russian proposal actually to disarm", and that "Ukraine desperately needs financial and military support from the United States and the European Union".
Mr Zelenskyy has previously offered to step down from the presidency of Ukraine if it would bring about peace. Russia has said that it will not negotiate with him as it does not consider him the legitimate president, after elections were suspended because of the war.
Mr Yatsenyuk, who served two terms as Ukrainian PM between 2014 and 2016, said he thought Mr Zelenskyy should stay on until the war was over.
"The full fledged war started during the tenure of President Zelenskyy. And I hope that we will do our best to end this war under his leadership," he said.
Sir Keir's crunch talks at Downing Street on Sunday will see European leaders gear up efforts to police a future Ukraine peace deal.
The Prime Minister believes a deal will have to involve US military assets providing surveillance, intelligence and potentially warplanes giving air cover to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from launching another bid to conquer his neighbour.
Mr Zelenskyy said on Saturday morning that it was "very important for us that Ukraine is heard and that no one forgets about it", following his clash with Donald Trump in the White House.
Writing in Ukrainian on messenger app Telegram, Mr Zelensky said: "It is very important for us that Ukraine is heard and that no one forgets about it, neither during the war nor after.
"It is important for people in Ukraine to know that they are not alone, that their interests are represented in every country, in every corner of the world."
He also thanked followers on the app for their support for Ukraine.
