Zelensky arrived at the White House on Friday with the hopes of signing a critical minerals deal with the U.S. and securing assurances from Trump as he seeks to broker peace between Kyiv and Moscow. But negotiations ended shortly after they started, with Trump calling Zelensky “disrespectful” and saying he was “not ready for peace.”
One of the most remarkable Oval Office scenes in years, the animosity was the culmination of roughly a month of growing tensions between the Trump administration and Zelensky, who had frustrated White House officials with some of his rhetoric and actions.
Trump welcomed Zelensky to the Oval Office cordially, praising the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers and insisting he wanted to see peace in region. But the meeting soon devolved into shouting and finger-pointing, with the president and Vice President Vance accusing Zelensky of being ungrateful and of having little leverage.
The moment the meeting went from friendly to off the rails occurred when Vance said Trump was engaging in diplomacy and Zelensky questioned “what kind of diplomacy, JD, are you speaking about?” noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has broken ceasefires and killed Ukrainians.
That sent all three men into a shouting match that ended with Trump ordering Zelensky from the White House with no signed critical minerals deal.
Before that, Trump suggested Ukraine would have to make compromises with Russia to end the war — while avoiding giving details on what Moscow might have to give up. He also said ramping up pressure on Putin would be counterproductive to reaching a peace deal.
The president also scolded Zelensky for placing demands on Russia’s side of the peace deal, telling him: “You’re not really in good position right now,” and “you don’t have the cards right now.”
Trump later told reporters that Zelensky had “overplayed his hand” in the Oval Office meeting, signaling that future U.S. support might be in jeopardy if Zelensky does not want to end the fighting.
Asked what Zelensky would have to do to restart talks, Trump said the Ukrainian leader would have to say, “I want to make peace,” instead of criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
