Britain stands behind Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following US President Donald Trump’s call for Ukraine to choose a new leader, UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has said.

Axar.az reports, citing The Guardian, that Streeting stressed that only Ukrainians should decide who leads their country.

“We are in no doubt that the aggressor here was Vladimir Putin. He is the person who chose to start this war. He is the person who could end this war tomorrow, and he chooses not to. So, we stand with Ukraine. We stand with President Zelensky,” Streeting said.

Streeting suggested that Trump was under domestic political pressure ahead of next month’s midterm elections because of rising fuel costs. He said Britain would prefer a tougher approach to sanctions against Russia but stressed the importance of maintaining Western unity.

“Let’s not overstate the impact of President Trump’s decision on purchasing oil from Russia and let’s not also understate US support for Ukraine,” Streeting said.

It should be noted that US President Donald Trump previously said it was time for Ukraine to elect a new president.