WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for being “disrespectful” Friday in an extraordinary Oval Office meeting, then abruptly called off the signing of a minerals deal that Trump said would have moved Ukraine closer to ending its war with Russia.
The astonishing turn of events could scramble affairs in Europe and around the globe. During his visit with Trump, Zelenskyy was expected to sign the deal allowing the U.S. greater access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals and hold a joint news conference, but that plan was scrapped after the heated engagement between the leaders in front of the news media.
It’s unclear what the blowup could mean for the deal that Trump insisted was essential to repay the U.S. for the more than $180 billion in American aid sent to Kyiv since the start of the war. And it remains to be seen what, if anything, Trump wants Zelenskyy to do to get the deal back on track.
The Ukrainian leader was asked to leave the White House by top Trump advisers shortly after Trump shouted at him, showing open disdain.
“You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have,” Trump told Zelenskyy.
The last 10 minutes of the nearly 45-minute meeting devolved into a tense back and forth between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy, who had urged skepticism about Russia’s commitment to diplomacy, citing Moscow’s years of broken commitments on the global stage.
Zelenskyy’s main objective going into the sit-down had been to press Trump not to abandon his country and to warn against moving too close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Instead he got shouted at while Trump appeared to play up the drama for the cameras.
At one point, Zelenskyy said Putin had broken “his own signature” 25 times on ceasefires and other agreements and could not be trusted. Trump responded that Putin had not broken agreements with him and ducked questions about offering security guarantees to Ukraine, saying he thought the minerals deal — which is now on-hold — would effectively end the fighting.
Things first got testy after Vance challenged Zelenskyy, telling him, “Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.” Zelensky tried to object, prompting Trump to raise his voice and say, “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.”
At another point, Trump declared himself “in the middle” and not on the side of either Ukraine or Russia in the conflict. He went on to deride Zelenskyy’s “hatred” for Putin as a roadblock to peace.
“You see the hatred he’s got for Putin,” Trump said. “That’s very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate.”
Trump later told reporters, shortly before departing for his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida for the weekend, that he wanted an “immediate ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine but expressed doubt that Zelenskyy was ready to make peace.
Zelenskyy made an appearance on Fox News on Friday evening in which he said his public spat with Trump and Vance was “not good for both sides.” But Zelenskyy said Trump — who insists Putin is ready to end the three-year grinding war — needs to understand that Ukraine can’t change its attitudes toward Russia on a dime.
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine won’t enter peace talks with Russia until it has security guarantees against another offensive.
“It’s so sensitive for our people,” Zelenskyy said. “And they just want to hear that America (is) on our side, that America will stay with us. Not with Russia, with us. That’s it.”
Following the meeting, Trump posted on his social media site that he had “determined” that Zelenskyy “is not ready for Peace.”
“He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace,” Trump wrote.
Democrats immediately criticized the administration for the breakdown. Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said Trump and Vance “are doing Putin’s dirty work.”
The testy discussion was especially surprising since it came a day after Trump struck a more conciliatory tone toward Ukraine, calling America’s support against Russia’s invasion “a very worthy thing to do” and disclaiming any memory that he had called the Ukrainian leader a “dictator.”
Trump and Zelenskyy spoke politely, even with admiration, of each other for the first half hour of the meeting. But, when the Ukrainian leader raised alarm about trusting any promises from Putin to end the fighting, Vance offered his strong rebuke for airing disagreements with Trump in public.
That instantly shifted the tenor of the conversation as Zelenskyy grew defensive and Trump and his vice president blasted him as ungrateful and issued stark warnings about future American support.
“It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,” Trump said to Zelenskyy as the two leaders talked over each other about past international support for Ukraine.
Vance then interjected, “Again, just say thank you.”
Zelenskyy pushed back on Vance, telling him he’s offered his appreciation “a lot of times” to the American people and the president. The Ukrainian leader after leaving the White House expressed his gratitude on social media.
“Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
But administration officials were not satisfied with Zelenskyy and perceived a “hostility” with him and his body language in the Oval Office, according to a White House official. Trump also objected to the Ukrainian leader bringing up the issue of security guarantees when Trump made clear he wanted to focus on the minerals deal, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Former President Joe Biden had also grown frustrated at moments with Zelenskyy for being insufficiently grateful of American support, according to former administration officials. But unlike Trump, Biden expressed his displeasure with Zelenskyy privately.
Trump also suggested that Zelenskyy should not be demanding concessions.
“You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now,” Trump said pointing his finger toward Zelenskyy.
Shortly before the meeting ended, Trump said, “This is going to be great television.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally who has advocated to keep up American support for Ukraine, said he wasn’t confident that the Trump-Zelenskyy relationship could be repaired.
“I don’t know if you can ever do a deal with Zelenskyy anymore,” the South Carolina Republican said.
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