LONDON — Donald Trump is “frustrated” with Vladimir Putin’s irrational approach to peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, according to Nigel Farage, the British politician who is closest to the U.S. president.
Farage said Trump was doing his best to secure a fair deal for Ukraine, adding that the current proposals for limits to the size of the Ukrainian armed forces and ceding territory to Russia were not acceptable.
“Putin proves with every week that goes by that he’s not rational, that he doesn’t want a just settlement, and frankly he is an incredibly dangerous man,” Farage told reporters on Thursday.
In response to a question from POLITICO, Farage said Ukraine had been offered a bad deal under which it would be forced to accept limits to the size of its military that would usually apply only to a country that had signed an “unconditional surrender.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s position is in doubt amid a corruption scandal, Farage said. But Kyiv could not “give up territory they’ve lost tens of thousands of lives defending,” he said. “So the deal as it is at the moment doesn’t work and can’t stand.”
Farage emphasized that his comment was not a criticism of Trump’s efforts to broker a truce, adding that the U.S. president was “a peacemaker” who was doing his best to secure a fair deal. “I admire him hugely for it and I know how frustrated he’s been by Putin’s lack of rationality,” Farage said.
Farage’s assessment offers a boost to Ukraine and its allies who have worried that Trump might force an unbalanced settlement that favors Russia on Kyiv. The Reform UK leader’s remarks carry weight as he counts Trump as a “friend” and is in regular contact with the president.
This week, Trump sent his son in law Jared Kushner and peace envoy Steve Witkoff for five hours of direct talks with Putin. But the Russian leader dismissed the proposals, which had been adjusted in light of input from Ukraine and its European allies.
Trump said this week that the path to peace was still unclear.
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