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“He doesn’t have to stand there and say about Putin this, Putin that — all negative things,” Trump said of Zelensky in remarks to reporters as he left the White House, adding that the Ukrainian President needs to declare he wants peace.
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The Russian President by contrast, Trump said, “is going to want to make it, he wants to make it, he wants to end it.”
The comments from Trump came after an earlier meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart devolved into an angry exchange over the nature of US support and whether Zelensky had shown enough gratitude.
Asked whether he was considering cutting off military aid to Ukraine, Trump responded: “It doesn’t matter what I’m considering. I’m just telling you: You saw what I saw today. That was not a man that wanted to make peace, and I’m only interested if he wants to end the bloodshed.”
Trump also said, “He (Zelensky) says that he wants to come back right now, but I can’t do that… They should have an immediate ceasefire… A ceasefire could take place immediately. If you want to end the war, you sign an agreement that’s going to take a period of time. It takes time. I want it to end immediately, and I think if you had a ceasefire, it would be a ceasefire, a real one that would end it. He doesn’t want to do that… I want it to end immediately. I want a ceasefire now. He (Zelensky) says, oh, I don’t want a ceasefire. Well, all of a sudden he is a big shot because he has the US on his side. Either we’re going to end it or let him fight it out, and if he fights it out, it’s not going to be pretty easy as without us, he doesn’t win.”
Zelensky’s meeting with Trump ended on an ugly note on Friday, as the two leaders engaged in a heated exchange before the global media at the White House over the war and a ceasefire with Russia.
Zelensky appeared on Fox News on Friday evening, where he acknowledged that his public clash with Trump and Vance was “not good for both sides”. However, he stressed that Trump — who claims Putin is willing to end the three-year war — must understand that Ukraine cannot suddenly shift its stance toward Russia.
He added that Ukraine will not engage in peace talks with Russia unless it receives security guarantees to prevent future attacks.
“It’s so sensitive for our people,” Zelensky said.
“And they just want to hear that America (is) on our side, that America will stay with us. Not with Russia, with us. That’s it.”
Zelensky viewed the Oval Office meeting as a chance to persuade the US not to align with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the invasion of Ukraine three years ago. However, US President Trump and Vice-President Vance criticised Zelensky, accusing him of “disrespect” and further straining ties with Kyiv’s key wartime ally.
Trump and Zelensky spoke cordially, even expressing admiration for each other, during the first half an hour of their meeting.
However, tensions escalated when Zelensky voiced concerns about trusting Putin’s promises to end the war.
The tone of the conversation quickly shifted, with Zelensky becoming defensive as Trump and Vance accused him of being ungrateful and issued warnings about future US support.
“It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,” Trump told Zelensky as they spoke over each other about past international aid for Ukraine.
Vance then cut in, saying, “Again, just say thank you.”
Zelensky pushed back, asserting that he had expressed his gratitude “a lot of times” to the American people and the President.
After leaving the White House, Zelensky reiterated his appreciation on social media, writing:
“Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
