US President Donald Trump has called on Ukraine to stop attacking diesel refineries as part of its military’s counteroffensive operations against Russia, accusing the attacks of contributing to diesel shortages around the world.
“Zelenskyy has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Trump told reporters. “Let him go after targets, but not diesel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel.”
Trump was speaking in Ireland where he’s on a 48-hour trip primarily to attend the Irish Open Golf Tournament held at his private golf links hotel in Doonbeg, County Clare.
He appeared to blame Ukraine’s war efforts in targeting Russia as the main reason for spiralling energy prices, despite experts pointing to his and Israel’s war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, from which 20% of the world’s oil typically flows, as the main culprit.
Trump said Ukraine has “plenty of other targets” to strike, noting that Kyiv’s strategy in going after Moscow’s oil and gas reserves in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 is “hurting the world.”
Meanwhile, Dublin is breathing a sigh of relief after a successful round of diplomatic engagements with Trump which culminated in his calls for a united Ireland.
Trump met with Irish Prime Minister Taoiseach MicheálMartin as part of his round trip where he is due to present the winner of the tournament with the trophy on Sunday evening before returning to Washington.
Trump raised the issue of the Republic of Ireland and the UK’s Northern Ireland ‘merging’ to become one country in the future on numerous occasions including in a 45-minute speech at the US Ambassador’s residence in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.
He said it was “natural to put north and south together.”
“I’ve always loved the people of Ireland. It just seems to me that you have Northern Ireland and you have Ireland,” he said.
“It seems to me that one of the naturals of all time is to put them together,” he said to reporters after his meeting with Micheál Martin on Saturday.
Trump also reportedly initiated the topic of a united Ireland with Irish President Catherine Connolly, a left-wing politician who has on numerous occasions criticised her US counterpart in the past, and even lambasted him as a “bully”.
President Connolly presented Trump with a book of poems from Belfast-born poet Michael Longley. Regarded as one of “the finest poets Ireland has produced”, Longley’s work spans love, war, nature, and art.
“His sonnet ‘Ceasefire’, drawing on Homer, has become one of the defining Irish poems about what it is to forgive,” her press team said in a statement after the meeting.
Irish government sources say the issue of uniting Northern Ireland and Ireland – which would mean Northern Ireland to break away from the United Kingdom – is an issue Trump frequently raises whenever he’s in the company of diplomats or government officials.
Trump declared on Saturday that a unified Ireland “would be fantastic” and is “going to happen eventually.”
Newly-appointed UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently said a referendum on a united Ireland is currently “off the table”.
“I’m here, as I said earlier, to listen, and I will take a collaborative approach, but some issues will be off the table, and that is one issue that will be off the table.”
Burnham detailed that until there is overwhelming evidence of a desire for a referendum, one would simply not be pre-emptively triggered. Sources close to Burnham have reiterated on Saturday that the UK premier’s opinion has not changed following Trump’s declarations.
Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement peace settlement which ended over 30 years of armed conflict in Northern Ireland, a united Ireland can come about if it’s the preference for the majority of the population.
A referendum on a so-called “border poll” must be triggered by the British government. The UK government did not respond to request for comments at time of writing.
Sources also revealed to Euronews that the timing of Trump’s calls comes amid tensions between the US and UK over the war in Iran.
Washington has repeatedly slammed European NATO allies for not joining in the war in Iran. He was particularly scathing about former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer who initially refused the US access to basing rights at military bases on British territories.
Starmer soon relented and allow US forces to use UK air bases for “defensive purposes.” But Trump frequently expresses his indignation over the matter, stating, “your country was not there to help me.”
More recently, the Trump administration has questioned British sovereignty over the Falkland islands after Argentine President Javier Milei again claimed the territory slightly off his country’s shores.
Many believe Trump, a close friend of Milei’s, may be retaliating against the UK by not leaping to their support.