US President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in Washington, DC, US [Brian Snyder/Reuters]
AL JAZEERA | Published March 1, 2025
Trump wrote on social media that Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not ‘ready for peace if America is involved’.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with United States President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, ended abruptly after the two leaders clashed in a heated exchange over Russia’s war against Kyiv.
At the Oval Office on Friday, Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, berated Zelenskyy for being “disrespectful” and not thanking the US enough for its support.
“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people,” Trump shouted. “You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country – this country.”
Zelenskyy, who was meeting with Trump to convince him not to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discuss possible US security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, told Trump that there would be “no compromises with a killer on our territory”.
As the Ukrainian leader left the White House shortly after the verbal match, Trump took to the Truth Social social media app, which he owns, to write that Zelenskyy was not “ready for peace if America is involved”.
“He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace,” he added.
Zelenskyy posted on X after the meeting to thank the US for its support.
“Thank you POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that,” he wrote.
Here is how some world leaders reacted to the heated dispute:
United States
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham urged Zelenskyy to prioritise a rare earth minerals deal over security guarantees or a ceasefire with Russia.
“I talked to Zelenskyy this morning – don’t take the bait. President Trump was in a very good mood last night,” Graham said outside the White House.
A vocal Ukraine supporter and Trump ally, Graham called the meeting an “utter disaster” and questioned future US dealings with Zelenskyy. “I don’t know if we can ever do business with Zelenskyy again,” he said, adding that the Ukrainian president should apologise to Trump or for Ukraine to “get someone new” to lead the country.
Top Democratic leaders condemned Trump’s handling of the talks. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused him of doing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “dirty work”, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the exchange “appalling”.
“The United States must not reward Russian aggression,” Jeffries said. “We should stand with Ukraine until victory is won.”
Russia
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of the Russian Security Council, wrote on Telegram that Trump had given Ukraine a “strong slap on the wrist”.
“For the first time, Trump told the cocaine clown the truth to his face: The Kyiv regime is playing with the Third World War. And the ungrateful pig received a strong slap on the wrist from the owners of the pigsty. This is useful. But it’s not enough – we must stop military aid to the Nazi machine,” said Medvedev, who is also a former Russian president.
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also praised Trump for showing “restraint” with the Ukrainian leader, whom she called a “scumbag”.
“I think Zelenskyy’s biggest lie of all his lies was his assertion in the White House that the Kyiv regime in 2022 was alone, without support,” she wrote on Telegram. “How Trump and Vance held back from hitting that scumbag is a miracle of restraint.”
European Union
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola all told Zelenskyy in a joint post: “Your dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be brave, be fearless.
“We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace.”
The bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, meanwhile, said it was clear that “the free world needs a new leader.”
“Ukraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine,” she said in a social media post.
“We will step up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back [against] the aggressor,” she added. “Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge.”
France
French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters in Portugal that Russia is the “aggressor” in the Ukraine war and Ukrainians are the “aggressed people”.
“I think we were all right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago, and to continue to do so. We, that is the United States of America, the Europeans, the Canadians, the Japanese and many others,” Macron said.
“And we must thank all those who have helped and respect those who have been fighting since the beginning. Because they are fighting for their dignity, their independence, their children and the security of Europe. These are simple things, but they’re good to remember at times like these, that’s all,” he added.
Germany
Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, “Ukraine can rely on Germany and on Europe.”
“No one wants peace more than the citizens of Ukraine! That is why we are jointly seeking the path to a lasting and just peace,” he said.
Friedrich Merz, expected to be Germany’s next chancellor, addressed Zelenskyy on X, stating: “We stand with Ukraine in good and in testing times. We must never confuse aggressor and victim in this terrible war.”
Johann Wadephul, a top legislator from Merz’s party, also backed Ukraine.
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SOURCE: www.aljazeera.com
RELATED: Zelensky leaves White House after stunning shouting match with Trump and Vance leaves talks in tatters
The meeting blew up in front of the cameras when the American vice president began lecturing the Ukrainian leader
Trump accuses ‘disrespectful’ Zelensky of gambling with WW3
THE INDEPENDENT | Published March 1, 2025
What was supposed to be a triumphant White House visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to mark the signing of a mineral rights deal devolved into an Oval Office shouting match that ended with a vulgar, grievance-filled rant from President Donald Trump and taunts about Zelensky’s supposed lack of gratitude from Vice President JD Vance.
Zelensky left the White House roughly an hour after the emotional eruption, cutting short talks that were supposed to cement an economic relationship between Washington and Kyiv and create a mechanism to repay the billions in American military aid that has been sent to Ukraine since 2022.
Trump took to his Truth Social site to announce the collapse in talks, writing that he and Zelensky had “a very meaningful meeting in the White House” with “much” learned that “could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure.”
Zelensky seemed blindsided as Trump and Vance loudly lambasted him in front of the cameras (EPA)
“It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace,” Trump said.
A White House official told The Independent that the minerals deal was not signed and said Zelensky had been asked to leave by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz.
Echoing Trump’s social media post, the official said Zelensky could return only when he is “ready for peace.”
The conflagration which led to the Ukrainian leader’s abrupt departure — and what could be an equally abrupt end to American support for Ukraine — kicked off on Friday after the American vice president began lecturing Zelensky for what he called a lack of open gratitude towards the United States for the aid his country has received to combat Russia’s invading forces.
Earlier in the day, Zelensky had arrived at the White House and was greeted by Trump outside the West Wing, with the U.S. leader shaking his hand and making a jovial quip about the Ukrainian president’s customary wartime outfit before escorting him to the Oval Office.
As reporters watched, the two men spoke about the mineral deal that Zelensky’s government has been discussing with Trump administration officials for several weeks, with Trump saying it was “an honor” to have Zelensky at the White House — his first visit to Washington since the change of administration — and describing the work to reach a deal as “very hard” while saying it was going “very well.”
“We have something that is a very fair deal, and we look forward to getting in, getting some of the rare earth, but it needs to look at the inside, and it’s a big commitment for the United States, and we appreciate working with you very much, and we will continue to do that,” said Trump. The U.S. president also commended Ukraine’s armed forces as having been “very brave” during the three-year-old war that began with Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
But the conversation took a turn after roughly 30 minutes of questions from reporters as the subject turned to whether the agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine would include any security guarantees from the American side.
When Trump was asked by a reporter from Polish radio about concerns that he is “aligned” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump replied that he was “not aligned with anybody” save for “the United States of America, and for the good of the world.”
Zelensky leaves the White House after a press conference and a working lunch were cancelled (AP)
He also accused Zelensky of harboring “tremendous hatred” for Putin and said that made it harder to “make a deal” to end the war.
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