A Heated Exchange Between Trump and Zelensky in the Oval Office
A heated verbal confrontation took place between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House on Friday, during a meeting where they were expected to sign an agreement on sharing Ukraine’s mineral wealth and discuss a peace deal with Russia.
Zelensky urged the U.S. president to be cautious with Russia, while Trump accused the Ukrainian president of disrespecting him, bringing the growing tensions between the two leaders into the open.
Trump told Zelensky: “You’re not acting at all like you’re grateful. This is not a nice way to behave.”
Trump and his Vice President, Jay D. Vance, described Zelensky as “disrespectful” during the meeting when the Ukrainian president requested U.S. security commitments in the face of Russia, according to the Associated Press.
Trump said that Zelensky was not ready for peace and had shown disrespect for America. He added: “Zelensky can return when he’s ready for peace.”
For his part, Zelensky called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “terrorist” and told Trump that Ukraine and the world do not need to make “concessions to a murderer.” He added, “Even during war, there are rules.”
Zelensky rejected Trump’s statement that Ukrainian cities had turned to rubble due to the ongoing war that has lasted three years. Trump insisted that Putin wanted to reach an agreement.
Trump told Zelensky: “You’re gambling with starting World War III,” and urged him to be more grateful.
Trump also told Zelensky that the two options were either to reach an agreement or for the United States to abandon Ukraine.
A White House official confirmed that Zelensky left the U.S. presidential headquarters early on Friday after the tense meeting in the Oval Office with Trump. U.S. media reports later indicated that the joint press conference between Trump and Zelensky had been canceled.
