Zelenskyy-Trump meeting takes a U-Turn after war of words cancels minerals deal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with Donald Trump took a disastrous turn on Friday, as the two leaders engaged in an unprecedented war of words before the global media, which ultimately led to the cancellation of a minerals deal that Trump claimed would have brought Ukraine closer to ending the conflict and avoiding World War III.
“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, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance accusing Zelenskyy of failing to show “gratitude” after rejecting their proposed truce terms. Moreover, the US president said Ukraine will have to make “compromises,” which the Ukrainian president strictly refused.
“You don’t have the cards right now,” Trump said. “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out, and if we’re out, you’ll fight it out and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.”
Shortly afterwards, US media reported that Zelenskyy had been told to leave by senior Trump officials. The US president told journalists later that Zelenskyy was “overplaying his hand” and should agree to end fighting “immediately,” adding that “he can come back when he is ready for peace.”
Additionally, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on CNN called for Zelenskyy to “apologize for wasting our time for a meeting that was going to end the way it did.”
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.
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,” and 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.
“It’s so sensitive for our people,” Zelenskyy said. “And they just want to hear that America (is) on our side.”
As for the verbal clash, Zelenskyy refused to apologize, telling Fox News, “I’m not sure that we did something bad.” Yet he wished the exchange had not taken place in front of reporters.
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.
On the other hand, US allies in Europe rushed to back Zelenskyy, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni calling for a summit “without delay” between the United States, Europe, and their allies on the conflict.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, fresh off his own visit to the White House, said he had spoken to both Trump and Zelenskyy by phone following the clash and vowed “unwavering support” for Kyiv.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Zelensky for his “dignity” and said the bloc will continue working with him “for a just and lasting peace.”
As for Ukrainians themselves, the event was seen as a call to “surrender.”
“Trump demanded Ukraine’s surrender. This is what ‘you have no cards in your hand’ meant—it meant you lost, surrender,” the Ukrainian military analyst Mykhailo Samus, said in a Facebook post. “Was it possible to agree? I think there was no point. Because the U.S. was not going to help further.”
