Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb reacted negatively to US leader Donald Trump's statement that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a "dictator without elections."
Points of attention
- Norwegian Prime Minister Støre, German Chancellor Scholz, and Finnish President Stubb condemn Trump's unfounded claims about Zelenskyy, highlighting his electoral legitimacy and defending Ukraine's constitution.
- The European leaders stress the importance of supporting President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people, rejecting Trump's attempts to undermine their democratic processes.
- Scholz, Störe, and Stubb firmly oppose Putin's aggression in Ukraine, emphasizing Russia's responsibility for the conflict and advocating for discussions on the consequences of letting Putin succeed.
Europe's reaction to Trump's statements about Zelenskyy
"I think it's deeply unfounded. This is a popularly elected president with an overwhelming majority of votes, who is caught in the middle of his term by a full-scale war," said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
The position of the head of the Norwegian government is also shared by the country's opposition.
"This is dangerous and downright false on the part of President Trump. It is sad to realize that there are almost no shared values left on the other side of the Atlantic. It is now clear that Trump wants Putin to win," commented the leader of the Liberal Party, Gouri Melby.
She also added that the only right solution for Oslo now is to strengthen support for Kyiv, modernize Norwegian defense, and establish closer ties with the EU.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also rejected Trump's statement, Spiegel reports. According to him, "it is simply wrong and dangerous to deny the democratic legitimacy of President Zelensky."
The truth is this: Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the elected head of state of Ukraine. The fact that proper elections cannot be held during a war is in accordance with the Ukrainian Constitution and electoral legislation. No one should claim the opposite.
Olaf Scholz
Chancellor of Germany
He emphasized that it was Russia, under the leadership of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, that started the war against Ukraine.
Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia's merciless war of aggression for almost three years. Day after day.
Finnish leader Alexander Stubb said that he categorically disagrees with the US president's statement about Zelenskyy.
Finland supports Ukraine by all possible means. Finland supports the Ukrainian constitution and the democratically elected President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Alexander Stubb
President of Finland
Like previous leaders, he emphasized that the war in Ukraine was started by the Russian Federation and Putin.
"Our task is to discuss with Trump what the consequences will be if Putin gets his way," Stubb noted.
