As the two leaders clashed with the future of Russian Ukraine’s invasion, a prominent meeting between Ukrainian President Voldy Mirzelensky and his US Donald Trump was left to a crying match.
On Friday, Zelenkie arrived at the White House to discuss the proposed deal to allow the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals while promoting US security assurances.
However, when the two leaders sat for a press conference in the oval office, the atmosphere was quickly suppressed, and Trump screamed at Zelensky, telling him to “thank” the US support.
“You either make a deal or we’re out,” Trump told Zelensky.
Shortly after the meeting, Trump issued a statement on social media, retracting the US from negotiations with Ukraine and appeared to be ejecting Zelensky from the White House. It was not signed in the end.
“I have determined that President Zelensky is not ready for peace if America was involved,” Trump wrote. “He downplayed the United States in his precious oval office. He can come back when he is ready for peace.”
For more than a decade, Ukraine has faced territorial invasions from Russia, leading to a full-scale invasion that began in February 2022.
The international community has largely accused Russia of illegality, and the United States is a vital partner in the defense of Ukraine, providing $65.9 billion in military aid since the start of the war three years ago.
But since Trump took office in January, his support has become questionable. Earlier this month, Trump spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and sent envoys to negotiate a peace deal with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia, without participation from Ukraine or Europe.
Zelensky and other European leaders have accused those cases of watching their interests by the sidelines.
Since then, Trump has raised tensions, calling Zelensky a “dictator” for not holding wartime elections and accusing him of using the US “gravy train.”
Zelensky was the third European leader to visit Trump this week after French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer. However, unlike leaders who struggled to praise Trump, Zelensky openly contradicted Trump, calling Putin a “killer and terrorist.”
Here is an important takeaway from their meeting.
Fractures will appear immediately at the meeting
From the moment Zelensky arrived at the White House there were signs of a meeting thorny.
Trump greeted Zelensky in his White House driveway, greeted him with a handshake and quip about his outfit. His outfit is a black version of his usual military uniform, a symbol of his status as a wartime president.
“He’s all dressed today,” Trump said aloud.
When the two leaders settled in an oval office for the first press conference of the day, Trump confronted his usual talk points and promoted a deal to access Ukrainian rare earth minerals.
“We’re going to sign the contract at a meeting in the East Room right after lunch,” Trump said.
“We have a very fair deal. We look forward to getting in, digging, digging, digging, doing our job and getting some of the rare earth.”
However, it was very quickly revealed that the two leaders were not on the same page about the deal.
Zelenskyy stressed that any agreement that must include actual security guarantees in Ukraine requires any agreement.
“I hope this document, the first document, will become the first step in Ukraine’s actual security assurance,” the Ukrainian president said. “Our people, our kids really count that.”
Clash over his relationship with President Putin
Trump also quickly promoted ongoing negotiations with Putin, saying they would have “very good debate” and end the war.
The US president previously said it was “impossible” for Ukraine to return to its pre-2014 border before Russia began seizing territory like Crimea and Donetsk. He also argued that Ukraine’s attempt to join the NATO military alliance was a non-starter.
Critics accused Trump of giving President Putin early concessions by making such remarks. And on Friday, Zelensky emphasized that Trump’s support is “important” to maintain the integrity of Ukraine’s territory.
“I really look forward to your strong position to stop Putin,” Zelensky said. “We hope we can stop him together. But for us, it is very important to save our country, our values, our freedom, our democracy. And of course, there is no compromise with the killers of our territory.”
Trump, on his part, tried to condemn Zelensky’s hostility towards Putin for stalling peace talks. Meanwhile, he positioned himself as an “arbitrator” and as a “peace superintendent” between the two fighting sides.
“You see the hatred he has for Putin. It’s difficult to trade with such hatred,” Trump told reporters.
He also doubled his claim that Ukraine must give up something to achieve peace with Russia. “I think you have to always compromise. You can’t trade without compromise.”
However, Ukrainian leaders pushed back, saying that the war was not a clash of personality, but a violation of his country’s sovereignty.
“Putin never stops. Zelensky said that tensions begin to boil in the room, so he will go even further.” “He hates us. It’s not about me. He hates Ukrainians. He thinks we are not a country.”
With his fingers shaking and his voice raised, Trump began to push both Zelensky and reporters on him whether he could trust Putin to not violate a potential ceasefire.
“If there is? What if the bomb just falls on your head?” Trump provided fierce, particularly Putin’s sympathetic defense after snapping to the reporter.
He appeared to frame Putin as an ally in political competition with the Democrats. Trump pointed to a federal investigation into the 2016 presidential election that investigated allegations that Russia had intervened on behalf of Republicans.
“Putin went through a lot of hell with me. He went through sound witch hunts using him, Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia. Have you heard of that deal?” Trump asked, calling the investigation a democratic scam. “He had to go through that.”
“Impority” accusations
Trump’s team has repeatedly recited the well-known accusations that he is responsible for allowing his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden’s administration, to launch a war in Ukraine in the first place.
As tensions began to surge, US Vice President JD Vance swings against Biden and accused him of “banging” him [his] To end the war.” He added that, by contrast, the Trump administration is focused on diplomacy.
However, Zelenskyy was troubled by the assessment and questioned what diplomacy with Putin could be, given that the Russian leader had already broken the 2014 agreement to stop the fighting in Donetsk and Luhansk.
At that point, the ad attacks began in earnest.
“I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that will end the destruction of your country,” Vance replied. “I think it would be rude to come to an oval office and try to sue this in front of the American media.”
When Zelensky pointed out that Vance had never been to Ukraine and had not felt the effects of the war directly, Trump was angry and cut.
“You shouldn’t tell us what we are feeling, you’re trying to solve the problem. You shouldn’t tell us what we are feeling,” he retorted.
“You’re living and gambling for millions of people. You’re gambling with World War II,” Trump continued to talk about Zelensky. “You’re gambling with World War II. What you’re doing is very rude to this country.”
Zelensky repeatedly tried to block the fact that he actually wanted to stop the war, but Trump appears to be on the roll and denounces the Ukrainian leader to show gratitude.
“You have to be grateful. You don’t have a card. You are buried there. Your people are dying. You are running soldiers low,” Trump said. “I empowered you to be a tough guy, and I don’t think you would be a tough guy without America.”
Within minutes the meeting was over.
An uncertain future
There were no trades on rare earth minerals that afternoon. The second press conference scheduled for the second time that day has been cancelled. And soon, a representative of the Ukrainian delegation came out of the building, and Zelenki was found leaving the White House in a dark vehicle.
The war of words quickly moved to the internet, with each leader offering remarks about what happened in the oval office.
“We learned a lot that we could never understand without a conversation under such fire and pressure,” Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social. However, he doubled his accusations that Zelensky had “disregarded” his office.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy offers a brief, more neutral approval for the meeting and focuses on appreciation for US support.
“Thank you to America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Ukrainian leaders use the US President’s social media handle to thank @potus, Congress and the Americans,” he wrote. “Ukraine really needs peace and we work precisely for that.”
Zelenskyy is currently heading to London for a meeting with European leaders.
Russian leaders quickly praised Trump and Vance’s performance during the meeting.
“The way Trump and Vance prevented Skanbug from hitting on what was a miracle of restraint,” wrote Maria Zakharova, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Telegram.
Republicans like Senator Lindsey Graham also cheered on Trump’s comments. But many Democrats and prominent European leaders rallied in Zelensky’s defense.
“Dear Zelensky, dear Ukrainian friend, you’re not alone,” Poland Prime Minister Donald Tass immediately posted on social media.
It’s unclear what’s coming next, but analysts say the historic meeting may not yet mark the end of negotiations between the two allies, particularly as the US seeks a source comparable to China for rare earth minerals.
“I don’t think that means cancelling the transaction,” Samuel Ramani, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in the UK, told Al Jazeera in an interview.
“I think this deal shows a lot of flexibility. The US originally wanted more than $500 million in minerals. Ukrainians were able to do water like water that would make it something like a reconstruction agreement, rather than just pure collateral for military aid previously provided.”
However, experts agree that the full range of fallout has not been seen yet.
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