Paris: European leaders threw their support behind Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after a raised-voice spat on Friday with Donald Trump sent shockwaves across the world, casting doubts over efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The US president openly berated Zelensky for not being “thankful”, and later accused the Ukrainian leader of “not being ready for peace” and having “disrespected” the United States in the “cherished Oval Office”.
Here are some of the political reactions from around the world.
European Union chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa assured Zelensky that he was “never alone”.
“Be strong, be brave, be fearless,” wrote the European Commission and council presidents in a joint statement on social media, telling Zelensky: “We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace.”
The bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas questioned the United States leadership of the transatlantic alliance between European powers and Washington.
“Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge,” she wrote on social media.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that Russia was the “aggressor” in the Ukraine war.
“There is an aggressor which is Russia. There is an aggressed people which is Ukraine,” Macron told journalists, adding: “We were all right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago and to continue to do so.”
He later went further to say that “if anyone is playing at World War III, it’s Vladimir Putin”, referring to Trump’s accusations against Zelensky.
Germany’s likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz assured his support to Zelensky in a posting on X.
“We must never confuse the aggressor and the victim in this terrible war,” Merz said. The outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz also voiced support for Ukraine, as did Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who added that Kyiv’s “quest for peace & security is ours”.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, one of the closest partners of both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, thanked Trump for standing “bravely for peace”.
“Strong men make peace, weak men make war,” Orban wrote in a post on X.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for the United States, Europe, and their allies to gather over the Ukraine war “without delay”.
“A summit without delay is needed… to talk frankly about how we intend to tackle today’s major challenges, starting with Ukraine, which together we have defended in recent years,” she said.
“Dutch support for Ukraine remains undiminished. Especially now,” Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on X, adding “We want lasting peace and an end to the war of aggression that Russia has started.”
Staunch Kyiv ally Poland moved to reassure Ukrainians after the dispute.
“Dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X in a post addressed to Zelensky.
