EU leaders to urge Zelenskyy to rein in criticism of Trump

{"text":[[{"start":9.7,"text":"EU leaders are set to urge Volodymyr Zelenskyy to tone down his public criticism of Donald Trump, amid concerns that the Ukrainian president’s increasingly blunt remarks risk further damaging already strained relations between Washington and Kyiv."}],[{"start":24.92,"text":"In an interview with the FT on Wednesday, Zelenskyy criticised the US leader’s recent diesel deal with Russia, condemned a “dangerous” withdrawal of US intelligence support and said Trump had an affinity for autocrats and the ultra-rich."}],[{"start":39.02,"text":"That blunt assessment startled EU leaders who will meet Zelenskyy in Brussels on Friday and urge him to moderate his rhetoric during closed-door talks, three officials briefed on the summit preparations told the FT."}],[{"start":50.36,"text":"“It might be true, but it doesn’t always need to be said out loud,” said one of the officials. The message from the 27 leaders will be empathetic but firm, the officials added."}],[{"start":62.16,"text":"Trump’s announcement he had struck a deal with Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel, Washington’s pressure on Kyiv to stop striking Russia’s refineries and US proposals to unfreeze Russian state assets have led to the worst crisis since Trump gave Zelenskyy a public dressing-down in the Oval Office last year."}],[{"start":79.34,"text":"The breakdown in relations puts Kyiv’s European allies, who also rely on Washington for critical defence and intelligence support, in a bind."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":87.04,"text":"“We want to continue helping Ukraine. And I am pleased that Zelenskyy will be with us tomorrow,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters on Thursday."}],[{"start":95.32,"text":"“We must do everything in our power to support Ukraine . . . it remains my firm conviction that we are not merely defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity; we are defending the political order of Europe, which is currently being put under intense pressure from Russia in every respect,” he added."}],[{"start":111.4,"text":"The US no longer provides financial aid to Ukraine and only supplies weapons paid for by Kyiv and its European allies. But Washington’s intelligence is critical to the country’s ability to defend against Moscow’s attacks and strike targets in Russia."}],[{"start":125.72,"text":"During previous flare-ups in his rocky relationship with Trump, European leaders have sought to comfort Zelenskyy and travelled to Washington to convince the US leader to remain supportive of his Ukrainian counterpart."}],[{"start":137.88,"text":"But many are planning to adopt a slightly more critical tone towards Zelenskyy on Friday morning, the officials said, while still expressing support — given the fragility of transatlantic relations and Russia’s relentless attacks on Ukraine."}],[{"start":151.36,"text":"“We have to continue our engagement with the United States because we’ve had moments in the past when there were challenges and difficulties in respect of this and it was retrieved by good outreach and engagement with the United States,” said Micheál Martin, Ireland’s prime minister, when asked about Trump’s stance on the war on Thursday. “I’ve no doubt that will continue.”"}],[{"start":171.72,"text":"“We definitely have different approaches [compared with the US] to this war,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s chief diplomat, when asked about the US-Ukraine tension. “We see that we have to pressure the aggressor to stop this war, not the victim. Squeezing Ukraine is not the right approach.”"}],[{"start":188.48,"text":"Additional reporting by Andy Bounds, Paola Tamma and Barbara Moens in Brussels"}],[{"start":197.66,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792065159_7311.mp3"}