“I don’t want advantage, I want peace,” Trump said. “He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace.”
The lengthy and angry confrontation in the Oval Office saw Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance berate Zelensky, calling him disrespectful and telling him to be grateful for America’s help.
US President Donald Trump welcoming Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.Credit: AP
“You’re gambling with World War III,” Trump said. “And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country – this country – that’s backed you far more than a lot of people said they should,” Trump declared. “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out, and if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it is going to be pretty.”
The clash began when a reporter asked whether Trump was aligned too closely with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump replied that he was not aligned with anybody, but a deal to end the war wouldn’t happen if he didn’t talk to Putin. Vance then added that “thumping our chest” had failed, and it was time to try diplomacy.
Zelensky pointed out that Putin had repeatedly violated previous ceasefire agreements, and queried how the US could engage diplomatically with him.
Vance responded: “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media … you should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”
Zelensky, with his arms folded, challenged Vance on whether he had been to Ukraine to observe the situation first-hand. Vance then accused Zelensky of bringing people on “propaganda tours” of Ukraine.
Shortly afterwards, as Zelensky was trying to make a point, Trump spoke over the top of him, saying: “No, no, you’ve done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble. You’re not winning. You have a damn good chance of coming out OK because of us.”
A frustrated Zelensky said he knew the country was in trouble but protested that Ukraine had been alone since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of 2022.
“You haven’t been alone,” Trump replied. “If you didn’t have our military equipment this war would have been over in two weeks.”
Zelensky said the US, across the Atlantic from Europe, may yet come to feel the effects of the war. “You don’t know that,” Trump said. “Don’t tell us what we’re gonna feel. You’re in no position to dictate what we’re gonna feel.”
The meeting then deteriorated, with the two men speaking over each other. “You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now,” Trump said.
The two parties later retreated to holding rooms. US media cited White House sources who said Zelensky was informed that the meeting was over and was asked to leave the White House grounds, despite the Ukrainians seeking to “reset” following the dispute.
The White House and members of Trump’s cabinet quickly embraced the catastrophic meeting and collapse of relations, pushing Trump’s statement out on social media along with video clips of the Oval Office argument.
Cabinet members rallied around the president, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio posting on X: “Thank you @POTUS for standing up for America in a way that no President has ever had the courage to do before. Thank you for putting America First. America is with you!”
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Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Ukraine advocate, said he was proud of Trump for “showing the American people and the world you don’t trifle with this man”.
“He wants to end the war, and Zelensky felt like he needed to bait Trump in the Oval Office,” he told Fox News.
Zelensky, having departed the White House grounds, made no mention of the altercation in a short post thanking America for the visit.
“Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
Zelensky, who gained billions of dollars’ worth of US weaponry and moral support from the Biden administration for its fight against Russia, is facing a sharply different attitude from Trump. Trump wants to quickly wind down the three-year war, improve ties with Russia and recoup money spent to support Ukraine.
Trump has adopted a much less committed stance towards European security, a change in tone that has sent shockwaves across Europe and stoked fears in Kyiv and among its allies that it could be forced into a peace deal that favours Russia.
After Zelensky left the White House, Macron pointed out in a post on social media platform X that Russia was the aggressor in the conflict with Ukraine, and Ukraine was the victim.
“We were right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago – and to keep doing so … Thank you to all who have helped and continue to do so. And respect to those who have been fighting since the beginning – because they are fighting for their dignity, their independence, their children, and the security of Europe.”
No security guarantees in proposed deal
An agreement negotiated in recent days between the US and Ukraine – but which has not yet been signed and is now under threat – would have opened Ukraine’s vast mineral wealth to the United States but did not include explicit American security guarantees for Ukraine. Trump said the presence of Americans in business would serve as a form of guarantee.
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How much any deal would be worth to the United States was not spelled out. Trump has said he expects to gain hundreds of billions of dollars. Zelensky has said he would not sign an agreement that would put his country in debt for generations.
Ukraine would be expected to contribute 50 per cent of “all revenues earned from the future monetisation of all relevant Ukrainian government-owned natural resource assets” to a reconstruction fund jointly owned and managed by the United States and Ukraine.
The agreement did not specify how any funds would be spent, or identify specific assets it might cover, though it said they would include deposits of minerals, oil and natural gas as well as infrastructure such as gas terminals and ports.
Ukraine has rapidly expanded its defence industry production but remains heavily reliant on foreign military assistance, while also struggling to replenish manpower as it battles a much larger foe.
While Ukraine repelled Russia’s invasion from the outskirts of Kyiv and recaptured swaths of territory in 2022, Russia still controls around a fifth of Ukraine and has been taking ground since a failed Ukrainian counteroffensive in 2023. Kyiv’s troops hold a chunk of land in Russia’s western Kursk region after a 2024 incursion.
Even before the explosive meeting, Trump had engaged in a long-distance feud with Zelensky, criticising his handling of the war and calling him a “dictator”.
with Reuters
