Starmer backs Zelensky after Trump calls him 'dictator'

LONDON, Feb 20 (BBC/AFP): Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has backed Volodymyr Zelensky as a "democratically elected leader" after Donald Trump described the Ukrainian president as a "dictator".

Sir Keir called Zelensky on Wednesday evening and told him it was "perfectly reasonable" for Ukraine to "suspend elections during wartime as the UK did during World War Two", Downing Street said.

The US president had earlier criticised Zelensky, saying he had done a "terrible job" and claiming "he refuses to have elections" in Ukraine.

Zelensky's five-year term was due to end in May 2024, but elections have been suspended since martial law was declared after Russia's invasion.

Sir Keir will travel to Washington DC next week for his first in-person meeting with Trump. The PM has said he wants to use his meeting next week to discuss a "US backstop" that he says is necessary to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again.

But the deepening rift between the US and Ukraine has now increased the political jeopardy for him. Sir Keir has said he would be prepared to deploy British troops to Ukraine to help guarantee its security as part of a peace deal provided there was a US "backstop".

Western officials said the number of land troops involved would be less than 30,000, with the aim of providing reassurance to the Ukrainian people, rather than a peacekeeping force.

In his phone call with Zelensky, Sir Keir "stressed the need for everyone to work together", a Downing Street spokesperson said. "The prime minister reiterated his support for the US-led efforts to get a lasting peace in Ukraine that deterred Russia from any future aggression," they added.

Russia has 'the cards' in

Ukraine talks: Trump

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the Russians "have the cards" in any negotiation to end the war in Ukraine, after branding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" who refuses to hold elections.

The Ukrainian leader, who has exchanged barbs with Trump since he initiated a dramatic shift in Washington's stance on the war, was due to meet US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv Thursday.

The United States has provided essential funding and arms to Ukraine, but Trump has rattled Kyiv and its European backers by opening talks with Moscow they fear could end the war on terms unacceptable to them.