British defence officials are said to be furious over claims Ukraine will have to give up their territory to Vladimir Putin for peace negotiations.
The US President Donald Trump is planning to meet Putin Saudi Arabia to discuss peace talks and the British Defence Secretary John Healey has said that Ukraine must play a part of these talks.
The US President said he held a call with Putin and then Volodymyr Zelensky and said negotiations will start “immediately” and a ceasefire is in the “not too distant future.”
Trump wrote, “I just spoke to President Volodymyr Zelensky. The conversation went very well. He, like President Putin, wants to make peace.
“We discussed a variety of topics having to do with the war, but mostly, the meeting that is being set up on Friday in Munich, where Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the delegation.”
The US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned it is unrealistic to expect Ukraine will be able to restores their 2014 borders during negotiations and that Kyiv will not join NATO.
Senator Richard Blumenthal condemned Hegseth’s message, blasting it is a “surrender & betrayal” of Ukraine.
Blumenthal, said Hegseth’s message amounted to abandoning Ukraine which undermines the security of European allies, he added, “They [Ukrainians] will persevere.”
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The Independent reported that British defence official said of the US, “The bastards are going to do this.”
Healey said, “We’ve seen the calls from President Trump overnight and we all want to see a durable peace and no return to conflict and aggression – and let’s not forget, Russia remains a threat well beyond Ukraine.
“So my message in these discussions will be that there can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine and Ukraine’s voice must be at the heart of any talks.
“Ukrainians are fighting bravely. It’s our jobs. It’s our job as defence ministers here at Nato, to put them in the best position to secure a lasting peace through strength.”
BBC TV Newsnight political editor Nick Watt said, “Talking to people in the defence establishment what I am hearing is things like this – ‘they [the US administration] are doing this above Zelensky’s head.’
Watt added, “On the overall approach, which is, no way will Putin get all he wants – which is Ukraine – but Zelensky will lose a huge amount of Ukraine. That is what I am hearing of the US administration – ‘the bastards are going to do this.’”
In a 90 minute call with Trump, Putin demanded that “root causes” of the war must be removed the Kremlin said.
The Kremlin’s mouth piece Dmitry Peskov said, “President Putin, in his turn, emphasised the need to remove the root causes of the conflict and agreed with Trump that a long term settlement could be achieved through peace talks.”
Dmitry Medvedev said the call between Trump and Putin demonstrates “Europe’s time is over” and that Europe is “mad with jealously and rage.”
Medvede who is the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council said, “There is not and cannot be a main country and a senior ruler of the planet.
“This lesson should be learned by the arrogant American elites.
“It is impossible to bring us to our knees. And the sooner our opponents realise this, the better.”
