Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has clashed with US President Donald Trump at the White House at a pivotal moment for his country, one that hinges on whether he can persuade Trump to provide some form of US backing for Ukraine’s security guarantees.
Zelenskyy told Trump on Friday that promises of peace from Russian Vladimir Putin can’t be trusted.
Trump said Putin hasn’t broken agreements with him.
“You’ve got to be more thankful,” Trump told Zelenskyy. He said the Ukrainian leader is “gambling with World War III.”
“Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel,” Trump fumed at Zelenskyy.
Trump chided Zelenskyy after Vice President JD Vance, one of the administration’s most sceptical voices on Ukraine, said Zelenskyy was being disrespectful for debating Trump in the Oval Office in front of the American media.
“Have you said ‘thank you’ once?” Vance asked Zelenskyy.
White House says it mistakenly let a reporter from Russian news agency Tass into the Oval Office.
"You can't do any deals without compromises”
It happened as Trump was meeting with Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian President shot back. “You know that we have conversations with him (Putin), a lot of conversations, my bilateral conversation, and we signed with him, me, like a new president, in 2019 I signed with him, the deal, I signed with him, Macron and Merkel, we signed a ceasefire, ceasefire.
“All them told me that he will never go. We signed with him a gas contract. Gas contract, yes, but after that, he broke the ceasefire….He didn't exchange prisoners. We signed the exchange, but he didn't do it. What kind of diplomacy, JD (Vance), you are speaking about," Zelenskyy added.
Trump said Ukraine will have to make "compromises" in a truce with Russia.
"You can't do any deals without compromises. So certainly he's going to have to make some compromises, but hopefully they won't be as big as some people think," Trump asserted.
TASS was not on the approved media list, according to the White House, and when the press office learned the reporter was in the Oval Office, he was escorted out by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump earlier told Zelenskyy that Ukrainian soldiers have been unbelievably brave and talked up an economic agreement between their two countries.
“It is a big commitment from the United States,” Trump said. He added that the United States has little of the rare earth minerals that are abundant in Ukraine, and says those resources will support uses in the US including artificial intelligence and military weapons.
Zelenskyy talked up the prospect of liquid natural gas exports to Europe but gently disagreed when Trump repeated his claim that Europe “did much less” than the United States to support Ukraine against Russia.
Zelenskyy called Putin “a killer” and a “terrorist” and told Trump there should be “no compromises with a killer.” He brought along printed photos to show Trump, but journalists in the room could not see them.
