‘You’ve got to be more thankful’, Trump tells Zelensky
Fiery and tense exchanges punctuated a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House today.
In a 50 minute-long conversation and press conference on Friday, Mr Trump accused Mr Zelensky of ‘gambling with World War Three’ as the two met in the Oval Office.
In a series of testy exchanges, Mr Zelensky warned the US would ‘feel it in the future’ if it did not continue to support Ukraine, prompting Mr Trump to hit back: “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem.”
Speaking loudly, in what were often chaotic scenes as members of the media tried to shout out questions too, Mr Trump later told his Ukrainian counterpart: “You’re gambling with millions of people seeing you gambling with World War Three. You’re gambling with World War Three.”
The US President, sitting next to the Ukrainian leader, also said their exchanges were ‘going to be great television’.
Mr Zelensky told Mr Trump that promises of peace from Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted, noting the Russian leader’s history of broken promises. Mr Trump said Mr Putin has not broken agreements with him. “You’ve got to be more thankful,” Mr Trump said.
US Vice President JD Vance also questioned why Mr Zelensky had not said thank you for US aid during the meeting.
Mr Trump suggested he was aligned with neither Ukraine nor Russia, telling reporters: “Well, if I didn’t align myself with both of them, you’d never have a deal.
“You want me to say really terrible things about Putin and then say ‘Hi, Vladimir. How are we doing on the deal that doesn’t work?’ I’m not aligned with Putin. I’m not aligned with anybody.
“I’m aligned with the United States of America, and for the good of the world, I’m aligned with the world.”
Vice President JD Vance told Mr Zelensky: “Mr President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media.
“Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for bringing an end to this conflict.”
Ukraine’s leader sought security guarantees as the US tries to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
But Mr Trump told Mr Zelensky that doing so was disrespectful, as the Ukrainian president pushed for US commitments to keep his country safe from further Russian aggression.
Mr Zelensky’s delegation is expected to sign a landmark economic agreement with the US aimed at financing the reconstruction of war-damaged Ukraine, a deal that would closely tie the two countries together for years to come. The agreement, which is seen as a step toward ending the three-year war, references the importance of Ukraine’s security but it leaves that to a separate deal to be discussed between the two leaders.
Mr Trump said he was ‘probably going to get an agreement, or I wouldn’t be here today’.
