Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reaffirmed Canada’s position that Ukraine “must” be included in negotiations to end Russia’s full-scale invasion during a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The call was held days after the U.S. held a first round of bilateral talks with Russian officials about ending the war, and as U.S. President Donald Trump increasingly attacks Zelenskyy — rhetoric the White House has refused to walk back.
“Prime Minister Trudeau reiterated that Canada will always stand in defence of Ukraine and emphasized that there can be no sustainable peace in Europe without security for Ukraine,” a readout of the call provided by the PMO said.
“The leaders stressed that any peaceful end to the conflict must include Ukraine at the negotiating table.”
Trudeau and Zelenskyy also discussed efforts to secure “a lasting peace that enables a strong, democratic, and prosperous Ukraine,” according to the readout.
The past week has seen a flurry of events that has left Ukraine and European leaders feeling sidelined from talks to end the nearly three-year-long war, as well as growing concern over Trump’s comments about Ukraine.
Officials from Washington and Moscow, after holding talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, said the meeting was a first step and that the U.S.-Russia relationship needed repairing before Ukraine can be brought into future peace negotiations.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
On Wednesday, Trump described Zelenskyy as a “dictator” and warned that he “better move fast” to negotiate an end to the war or risk not having a nation to lead. NATO allies have condemned any questioning of Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as Ukraine’s elected leader.
The day before that, Trump said Ukraine “should have never started” the conflict, which began in 2022 when Russia invaded its neighbour. Ukraine has sought to defend itself from Moscow’s onslaught ever since with the help of military and financial aid from the U.S., Europe and Canada.
Asked about Trump’s hostility Thursday at a press briefing, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said it reflects the administration’s growing frustration with what they see as Zelenskyy creating roadblocks in the path to peace.
“His frustration with President Zelenskyy that you heard is multifold,” Waltz said Thursday of Trump.
“There needs to be a deep appreciation for what the American people and the American taxpayer, what President Trump did in his first term and what we’ve done since. There’s some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, frankly, and insults to President Trump (that) were unacceptable.”
Waltz said Trump is frustrated that Zelenskyy rejected an offer presented last week by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that would have given the U.S. access to Ukraine’s critical minerals as repayment for U.S. support during the war, as well as future aid for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has said the deal asked more of Ukraine than it has received from the U.S. and did not include any specific security guarantees.
Waltz — who, as a member of Congress, wrote in a 2023 Fox News op-ed that Russia was responsible for the Ukraine war “like al Qaeda was to blame for 9/11” — didn’t directly answer whether he now agrees with Trump that Zelenskyy is more responsible than Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also did not respond when asked if Trump views Putin as a dictator.
“His goal here is to bring this war to an end, period,” Waltz said of Trump.
The growing tension with Ukraine was on further display Thursday when a planned news conference between Zelenskyy and Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine for talks in Kyiv, was cancelled at the last minute.
The event was originally supposed to include comments to the media by Zelenskyy and Kellogg, but was changed to a simple photo opportunity with no statements or questions. The change was requested by the U.S. side, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nikiforov said.
Writing on his Telegram channel, Zelenskyy said the meeting with Kellogg was a “good conversation, lots of details.” He said they discussed security guarantees for Ukraine and the return of Ukrainian prisoners from Russian custody.
“We can and must make peace reliable and lasting so that Russia can never return with war again,” he wrote. “Ukraine is ready for a strong, truly beneficial agreement with the President of the United States on investments and security.”
European leaders including the heads of Britain and France have openly discussed a Europe-led security guarantee for Ukraine as part of a peace agreement, which the Trump administration has said it supports.
—with files from the Associated Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
News Summary:
- Ukraine ‘must’ be part of peace talks, Trudeau says in call with Zelenskyy – National | Globalnews.ca
- Check all news and articles from the latest UKRAINE WAR NEWS updates.
- Please Subscribe us at Google News.