Following a heated exchange between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader left the White House in Washington earlier than scheduled. A planned press conference was subsequently cancelled.
After the abruptly ended meeting, which was intended to sign a resource agreement, Trump posted on the platform Truth Social that Zelenskyy was not yet ready for peace.
“We had a very significant meeting at the White House today. We learned a lot about what can be understood only through a conversation under such pressure and heat. It is astonishing what emerges through emotions and I have found that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if the United States is involved, as he believes that our involvement would give him a significant advantage in the negotiations. I want no advantage, I want PEACE” Trump wrote.
Trump further stated that Zelenskyy did not show the necessary respect in the “United States’ Oval Office”. “He can come back when he is ready for peace” the US President said.
Trump and his Vice, J.D. Vance, had confronted Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, accusing him of being disrespectful and ungrateful towards the US. Trump also accused Zelenskyy of putting the lives of “millions of people at risk” and “risking a third world war”. Zelenskyy’s retorts only further enraged Trump and his Vice.
When Zelenskyy made an indirect threat, stating that the US would feel the “influence” if they did not continue to support Kyiv, an irritated Trump responded, “You are not capable of dictating what we will feel.” He then reminded Zelenskyy that he “has no cards in his hand” – a statement that seemed particularly apt in the wake of the brief encounter at the White House.