WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump shouted at Ukraine’s leader on Friday during an extraordinary meeting in the Oval Office, berating President Volodymyr Zelensky for “gambling with millions of lives” and suggesting his actions could trigger World War III.
The last 10 minutes of the nearly 45-minute engagement devolved into a tense back and forth between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelensky — who had urged skepticism about Russia’s commitment to diplomacy, citing Moscow’s years of broken commitments on the global stage.
It began with Vance telling Zelensky, “Mr. President, with respect. I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
Zelensky tried to object, prompting Trump to raise his voice and say, “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.”
“You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have,” Trump said.
It was an astonishing display of open antagonism in the Oval Office, a setting better known for somber diplomacy. Trump laid bare his efforts to coerce Zelensky to agree to giving the US an interest in his country’s valuable minerals and to push him toward a diplomatic resolution to the war on the American leader’s terms.
Earlier in the meeting Trump said the US would continue to provide military assistance to Ukraine, but said he hoped that not too much aid would be forthcoming. “We’re not looking forward to sending a lot of arms,” Trump said. “We’re looking forward to getting the war finished so we can do other things.”
Trump suggested that Zelensky wasn’t in a position to be demanding concessions.
“You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now,” Trump said pointing his finger toward Zelensky. “With us you start having cards.”
He also accused Zelensky of being “disrespectful” to the US
“It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,” Trump told Zelensky at one point, as the two leaders talked over each other about past international support for Ukraine.
“Again, just say thank you,” Vance interjected to Zelensky, blasting him for litigating “disagreements” in front of the press. Trump, though, suggested he was fine with the drama. “I think it’s good for the American people to see what’s going on,” he added.
“You’re not acting at all thankful,” Trump said, before adding, “This is going to be great television.”
The harsh words came at a pivotal and precarious moment for Ukraine. Zelensky had planned to try to convince the White House to provide some form of US backing for Ukraine’s security against any future Russian aggression.
Zelensky is still 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 deal, which is seen as a step toward ending the three-year war, references the importance of Ukraine’s security. Earlier in the meeting, before tempers flared, Trump said the agreement would be signed soon in the East Room of the White House.
“We have something that is a very fair deal,” Trump said, adding, “It is a big commitment from the United States.”
He said the US wants to see the killing in the war stopped, adding that US money for Ukraine should be “put to different kinds of use like rebuilding.”
Earlier, Zelensky called Russian President Vladimir Putin a terrorist and told Trump that Ukraine and the world need “no compromises with a killer.”
“Even during the war there are rules,” he said.
As Ukrainian forces hold out against slow but steady advances by Russia’s larger and better-equipped army, leaders in Kyiv have pushed to ensure a potential US-brokered peace plan would include guarantees for the country’s future security.
Many Ukrainians fear that a hastily negotiated peace — especially one that makes too many concessions to Russian demands — would allow Moscow to rearm and consolidate its forces for a future invasion after current hostilities cease.
According to the preliminary economic agreement, seen by The Associated Press, the US and Ukraine will establish a co-owned, jointly managed investment fund to which Ukraine will contribute 50 percent of future revenues from natural resources, including minerals, hydrocarbons and other extractable materials.
Speaking about the rare earths agreement, Trump said the US is lacking in many such minerals while Ukraine has among the best on the planet. He said US interests plan to take those reserves and use them on everything from artificial intelligence operations to military weapons.
Asked about long-term security guarantee to guard against future Russian aggression, Trump says once the agreement is signed that a return to fighting was unlikely.
Trump, a Republican, has framed the emerging agreement as a chance for Kyiv to compensate the US for wartime aid sent under his predecessor, Democratic President Joe Biden.
But Zelensky has remained firm that specific assurances for Ukraine’s security must accompany any agreement giving US access to Ukraine’s resources.
This is Zelensky’s fifth White House visit, but his previous four came during the Biden administration. The Ukrainian president also was meeting with US senators during his time in Washington.
Fears that Trump could broker a peace deal with Russia that is unfavorable to Ukraine have been amplified by recent precedent-busting actions by his administration. Trump held a lengthy phone call with Putin, and US officials met with their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia without inviting European or Ukrainian leaders — both dramatic breaks with previous US policy to isolate Putin over his invasion.
Trump later seemed to falsely blame Ukraine for starting the war, and called Zelensky a “dictator” for not holding elections after the end of his regular term last year, though Ukrainian law prohibits elections while martial law is in place.