President Trump and Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy clashed in a heated oval office meeting, surrounding the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine. While disagreements usually play out behind closed doors, this one happened as the cameras were rolling. NBC News’ Gabe Gutierrez reports.
United States officials have called for an apology from Zelenskyy, as several Western nations condemn Trump’s conduct.
The future of United States support for Ukraine stands in doubt after a high-profile meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump devolved into a shouting match.The two leaders – along with US Vice President JD Vance – clashed on Friday in front of reporters at the Oval Office over the future of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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There were indications the meeting would be prickly from the moment Zelenskyy arrived at the White House after Trump greeted the Ukrainian leader with a quip about his outfit.
Tensions soon ramped up as it became clear the leaders disagreed over the terms of a minerals deal, which would give the US broad access to Ukraine’s rare earths as repayment for Washington’s support for Kyiv’s fight against Russia.
Zelenskyy emphasised that any agreement needed to include real security assurances for Ukraine, something the US under Trump has so far avoided.
Tensions spiked as Trump touted his friendly relations with President Vladimir Putin, before he blamed Zelenskyy’s animosity towards the Russian leader for stalling peace talks.
The news conference descended into outright aggression as Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being “disrespectful”, before asking him, “Have you said ‘thank you’ once?”
The meeting ended prematurely, before the Ukrainian leader and his delegation were ushered out of the White House.
The minerals deal also went unsigned and its future now looks uncertain. An unnamed White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Reuters news agency, said Trump is not currently interested in reviving it.
That same official claimed the Ukrainian delegation began “begging” to sign the deal after being told to leave the White House.
Zelenskyy took to X soon after the meeting to thank Trump, “Congress, and the American people”.
“Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that,” he wrote.
The Ukrainian leader then appeared on US conservative TV network Fox News, in an interview in which he was repeatedly asked if he would apologise to Trump.
The Ukrainian leader declined to do so, but said he regretted the public spat, saying it was “not good for both sides”.
“I’m not sure that we did something bad,” Zelenskyy said. “I cannot change the Ukrainian attitude to Russia. They are killers for us.”
But when asked in the interview if the relationship with Trump could be salvaged, Zelenskyy replied: “of course”.
On Saturday, Zelenskyy again posted on social media, saying: “It is very important for us that Ukraine is heard and that no one forgets about it, neither during the war nor after. It is important for people in Ukraine to know that they are not alone, that their interests are represented in every country, in every corner of the world.”
