During a heated meeting at the White House, US President Donald Trump ordered Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, “Make a deal or we’re out.”
The US president also urged his Ukrainian colleague to be “thankful” and accused him of “gambling with World War Three.”
However, Zelensky agreed with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, but Trump stated that Kyiv must make compromises in order to establish a peace agreement with Russia.
The talks between the two leaders come a week after Zelensky stated that Trump was “living in a disinformation space” created by Russia, and the US president accused Zelensky of being a “dictator,” which he has since appeared to retract.
The meeting to discuss the deal, which includes access to Ukrainian oil, gas, and rare minerals, occurred after America’s new president appeared to blame Zelensky for the war and chastised him for not initiating peace negotiations with Russia sooner.
His tone had softened in recent days, with Trump stating that he had “a lot of respect” for the Ukrainian president.
However, Friday’s conversation worsened when US Vice President JD Vance, who was there with other leaders in the meeting, informed Zelensky that the war had to be stopped through diplomacy.
Zelensky reacted by asking, “What kind of diplomacy?” referring to a previous ceasefire agreement in 2019, reached three years before Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The vice president then accused him of being disrespectful and “litigating” the matter in front of the media.
From there, the conversation swiftly deteriorated, with Trump and Vance accusing Ukraine’s president of being ungrateful for three years of US backing during the war with Russia, with Trump claiming he was in no position to tell the US how to feel.
Not long after the meeting, Zelensky was seen departing the White House in his official vehicle, ahead of time.
Trump took to Truth Social, his own social media platform, to allege that “Zelensky disrespected the US in its cherished Oval Office”.
“I have determined that President Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” the US president continued.
“I don’t want an advantage, I want PEACE.”
Zelensky also took to social media following the encounter, writing four messages thanking the president and the United States.
The summit elicited global reactions. Russia claimed Trump and Vance acted with restraint against Zelensky. A foreign ministry spokeswoman claimed it was a miracle the pair did not hit Ukraine’s democratically elected leader.
