Donald Trump suspension of aid to Ukraine ‘long signalled’ since Obama, says Aiken

That is the analysis of former Royal Navy submarine commander and UUP leader Steve Aiken.

Mr Aiken, who holds a Phd in international relations, was speaking in the wake of the public row between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last Friday, which saw Trump accuse him of risking World War three by refusing to submit to the US plan for a peace deal with Russia.

Zelensky had been refusing to sign over much of Ukraine’s rare minerals to the US in repayment for US military aid.

On Monday night it was announced that the US had suspended arms shipments to Ukraine to fight Russia.

Then on Tuesday afternoon Zelensky appeared to row back under the pressure, saying the fiery meeting with Trump was "regrettable" and that Ukraine is now "ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership" to negotiate both a peace deal and a minerals deal.

UUP MLA Mr Aiken said the most important thing is that the EU is now stepping up to the plate to increase its defence spending and support Ukraine against Russia because "we can't afford to let it fail".

But he rejected suggestions that this was down to pressure from Trump, saying "US presidents since Obama have been pushing on this line".

"The United States has been on a direction of travel and is pivoting towards a military and economic focus on Asia Pacific - especially on China and Japan. it's been clearly articulated and signaled since Obama was president."

The US believes it has been overstretched around the globe and now wants other nations to pick up military responsibility in areas such as Europe, he added.

Tyrone native and former NATO intelligence Col Philip Ingram also sees Trump as wanting to focus more on China.

He noted that Trump had only paused military aid to Ukraine and could therefore restart it at any time.

Trump's real aim, he said, was to "bully a rare earth metals deal" out of Zelensky.

One of the key metals there, he said, was lithium, and Trump's close associate Elon Musk owns the only processing plant for the metal in the US, he added.

He believes Russia will offer the US major business deals intended to blind Trump to the fact that Putin has no intention of changing its expansionist objectives, he added.

DUP MP Sammy Wilson said the US suspension of military aid to Ukraine was "a big mistake".

"It means that peace terms can now be settled more in favor of Putin, because Trump reduced the ability of the Ukrainians to resist Russian aggression," he said.

"Trump is totally out of line in all the big geopolitical issues which are going to impact the world in the next decade. He's encouraged dictators; America will not stand up and be the kind of policeman of the world, even though it's a leading nation."

He also suggested Trump's attitude to Zelensky could be coloured by his refusal to provide incriminating information on Joe Biden's son's business deals in Ukraine.