Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia was likely “very, very far away” — and even after his chaotic exit from the White House on Friday, he said that he still expects to enjoy American support in the meantime.
“I think our relationship [with the United States] will continue, because it’s more than an occasional relationship,” Zelensky said, adding, “I believe that Ukraine has a strong enough partnership with the United States of America.”
The Ukrainian leader left the White House on Friday after a contentious meeting with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance that was supposed to result in a deal involving rare earth mineral rights. When the meeting went sideways, so did the negotiations regarding peace between Ukraine and Russia after three years of war.
Zelensky argued during the meeting that giving President Vladimir Putin room to negotiate was effectively giving the Russian leader a win. American media quickly took up the torch, arguing across networks on the Sunday morning political shows that Trump was siding with Putin if Russia was given even the slightest of concessions.
German politician Friedrich Merz responded to the heated Oval Office spat by suggesting the Trump administration had staged it: “My assessment is that it wasn’t a spontaneous reaction to interventions by Zelenskyy, but apparently an induced escalation in this meeting in the Oval Office.”
Trump’s administration has said otherwise, however, arguing that Zelensky’s demeanor in the Oval Office meeting only proved that the Ukrainian leader was not truly ready to work toward peace.
“Coming to the Oval Office, with the body language, the shaking of head, the kind of the arms crossed, we just found it incredibly disrespectful,” Trump National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said. “We were ready to sign that deal … I want to address directly that this was some type of ambush. It is absolutely false. We had negotiated the minerals deal in the weeks prior. It was difficult, but it was done and finalized and ready to be signed in the East Room.”
