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Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain and President Emmanuel Macron of France have been prodding and counseling Volodymyr Zelensky on how to deal with President Trump.
March 5, 2025, 10:28 a.m. ET
The tutelage began last Friday, soon after President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine suffered through a humiliating dressing down at the White House, courtesy of President Trump.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain suggested that Mr. Zelensky return to the White House to mend fences with Mr. Trump. That idea was scotched by both sides, who concluded it would be better to let tempers cool, according to a British official familiar with the discussion.
But it was the beginning of five days of prodding and counseling from Mr. Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, who both told Mr. Zelensky that he needed to change his approach to Mr. Trump, according to the British official and French officials close to Mr. Macron. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The conversations took on greater urgency after the White House announced on Monday that it would halt American aid to Ukraine.
After talking to both leaders on Tuesday, Mr. Zelensky made a significant course correction, one taken by many world leaders when trying to win over Mr. Trump: He offered effusive praise and gratitude, gushing over the assistance America has provided to Ukraine’s war effort.
He also sought to assuage the American president’s unsupported claims that Mr. Zelensky did not want peace, going so far as to outline specific steps that could be taken on a path toward a settlement — like a cessation of missile strikes. Ukraine was “ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts,” Mr. Zelensky wrote on X.
