WASHINGTON – A crucial meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump ended in acrimony after a very tense exchange in the Oval Office, with Zelenskyy leaving the White House early and Trump saying, "He can come back when he is ready for peace."
Zelenskyy departed without signing a minerals deal with Trump that had been the main purpose of the meeting, and a joint press conference was canceled. The remarkable developments raised new questions about further U.S. support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia's full-scale invasion.
"We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
"I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
Later, in comments to reporters, Trump told said that Zelenskyy did not appear to be a man who wanted peace and that he had "overplayed his hand" in their tense White House meeting.
Zelenskyy's early departure followed a meeting in which he pressed for U.S. security commitments and said there should be "no compromises with a killer," clearly referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Trump said that Ukraine would need to make concessions and that Kyiv should be more grateful for U.S. support.
After shaking hands as they met on February 28 for the first time since Trump took office last month, the two leaders had an icy exchange before the cameras, raising their voices and reviving a dispute that Trump launched a week ago when he falsely blamed Ukraine for the war and called Zelenskyy a "dictator."
"You're not acting at all thankful. It's not a nice thing," said Trump, who has had a difficult relationship with Zelenskyy since the latter was elected in 2019. "It's going to be very hard to do business like this," he added.
"You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people," Trump said. "You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to...this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have.”
In video footage from the Oval Office, Trump and Zelenskyy interrupted each other and the U.S. president told his visitor, "Your country's in big trouble. You're not winning.... You have a damn good chance of getting out of this OK because of us.... You don't have the cards."
The meeting had been closely watched for signs of whether the United States would commit to providing further aid to Kyiv or promise any specific security guarantees against further Russian aggression as part of any cease-fire or peace deal.
The two had been expected to sign a framework agreement on U.S. access to Ukraine's mineral resources. The agreement, now it at least its third version, was a source of contention between Trump and Zelenskyy earlier this month as they disagreed over the value of the deal and the absence of concrete security guarantees.
Before the clash, Zelenskyy told reporters inside the White House that he hoped the minerals deal would be a step forward for Ukraine and said he wanted to discuss in more detail with Trump what the United States is ready to do for his country.
Trump said the agreement with Kyiv would be "very fair" and that a truce in Russia's war against Ukraine is "fairly close." He said Ukraine would have to make compromises.
As he rejected Trump's call for compromise, Zelenskyy showed the U.S. president pictures of alleged Russian atrocities.
Zelenskyy's visit to Washington was aimed at shoring up U.S. support to repel Russia's assault at a time when Trump has shifted the White House's policy stance to end more than three years of isolation sparked by the Kremlin's unprovoked invasion.
Beyond his meeting with the president, Zelenskyy engaged with key U.S. lawmakers, influential religious figures, and a think tank to bolster support for Ukraine, especially within Trump's Republican Party.
Prior to arriving at the White House, Zelenskyy met with a bipartisan delegation from the Senate, where Ukraine enjoys strong support, to press for continued military aid. He also met with Franklin Graham, an evangelical leader who has sway within the Republican party.
However, following the tense White House encounter, a discussion scheduled with Zelenskyy at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, was canceled. CNN reported that it was Zelenskyy who had called off the session.
'What Diplomacy?'
The clash began as the meeting with reporters present was about to wrap up, when Vice President JD Vance answered a question from a reporter who said Trump’s outreach to Putin unnerved Europeans. Vance said former President Joe Biden “talked tough” about Putin but didn’t stop the Russian leader.
“The path to peace, the path to prosperity, is maybe engaging in diplomacy,” Vance said. “What makes America a good country is America engaging in diplomacy. That’s what President Trump is doing.”
Zelenskyy then responded to Vance, saying he and European leaders had negotiated with Putin and agreed to a cease-fire in 2019, when Trump was president, but that Russia had violated it.
“He broke the cease-fire," Zelenskyy said of Putin. "He killed our people…. What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are talking about? What do you mean?”
Vance responded with apparent anger.
“I think it is disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media,” the vice president said. Trump then spoke sternly, telling Zelenskyy he holds no cards.
It was the second time in two weeks that the two leaders got into a firey exchage, the first time a long-distance war of words. After Trump blamed Ukraine for the war, Zelenskyy said the U.S. president was being fed Russian propaganda. Trump responded angerly in a February 19 social media post, calling Zelenskyy a "dictator" who risks losing his country if he doesn't act fast to accept a peace deal.
Trump played down the comments and struck a far softer tone at a joint news conference with visiting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the eve of Zelenskyy's visit, saying, "Did I say that? I can't believe I said that."
Trump also said he had a "lot of respect" for Zelenskyy, adding that Ukrainians "have fought very bravely."
Ukrainian analyst Serhiy Harmash told Current Time he believes Trump stepped back from his earlier comments because meeting with a leader he had disparaged "would be a blow to his credibility."
"And he's interested in meeting [Zelenskyy] because he needs to sign this minerals framework agreement" to notch a diplomatic achievement and bolster his image as a dealmaker," said Harmash, who was in previous negotiations with Russia.
Nonetheless, he and Zelenskyy seemed at odds on some issues as they spoke to reporters before their White House meeting.
Besides disagreeing with Zelenskyy on the need to compromise with Putin, Trump warned the Ukrainian leader that he was "gambling with World War III" and "should be grateful" to the United States.
Minerals Deal
The main purpose of the meeting with Zelenskyy at the White House is to sign a framework agreement on the development of Ukrainian mineral deposits, including rare earth metals and fossil fuels.
Trump says the deal will allow the United States to recoup some of the aid it has sent to Ukraine over the past three years while also stimulating Ukrainian economic growth.
“It is like a huge economic development project. So it'll be good for both countries,” the U.S. president said. He said the United States working on mineral extraction in Ukraine would amount to “automatic security because nobody’s going to be messing around with our people when we’re there.”
The text of the agreement, a copy of which was obtained by RFE/RL, says the United States “supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace” and has “a long-term financial commitment to the development of a stable and economically prosperous Ukraine.”
But Washington has not promised concrete security guarantees, something Zelenskyy says is an absolute necessity if there is a cease-fire or peace deal due to concerns that Russia, which has been on the offensive since seizing Crimea in 2014 and holds about 20 percent of Ukraine, could build up its army and attack again.
"I’m not going to make security guarantees...very much,” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “We’re going to have Europe do that.”
What Did Starmer and Macron Hope To Achieve With Trump?
The meeting of Trump and Zelenskyy comes during a week of lightning diplomacy between Europe and the United States.
Meeting with Trump at the White House in a bid to mend a strained transatlantic relationship triggered by disagreements over Ukraine and trade, Starmer urged the U.S. president to guarantee Ukraine’s security should a deal be reached to end the fighting.
Trump, who took office a month ago, has moved aggressively to end the war in Ukraine, holding a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month and sending his national security team to Saudi Arabia to meet their Russian counterparts.
After a meeting of U.S. and Russian officials in Istanbul on February 27, aimed at resolving disputes over their respective diplomatic missions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the United States had given Moscow its blessing to appoint a new ambassador to Washington, Aleksandr Darchiyev.
The outreach to the Kremlin turned the U.S. policy with Russia on its head and shocked European leaders, who feared Trump would cut a deal with Moscow behind their backs that could hurt Ukraine and weaken their own security.
Now, European leaders are traveling to Washington promising to step up their role in any settlement to steer the U.S. president away from what they worry could be an agreement that concedes too much to Russia and leaves them vulnerable.
At a White House news conference with Trump following their bilateral meeting, Starmer reiterated that Britain is ready to step up and contribute to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine if a deal is reached.
“The U.K. is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal, working together with our allies, because that is the only way that peace will last,” Starmer said.
He cautioned against rushing to end the war at any cost.
“We have to get it right. We have to win the peace. It can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor. History must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader,” Starmer said.
Trump did not commit to backstopping a European troop presence, a key ask of Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, who traveled to Washington on February 24.
Starmer said he and Trump discussed a peace plan that "Ukraine will help shape" and that is "backed by strength to stop Putin coming back for more."
He added that teams from the United States and the U.K. "are going to be talking about how we make sure that deal sticks, is lasting, and enforced."
U.K. media said Starmer is seeking U.S. guarantees of air, intelligence, logistics, and communications support for a European peacekeeping force.
When asked about U.S. security guarantees, Trump said it was too early to discuss as a cease-fire had yet to be reached. Prior to his meeting with Starmer, Trump indicated a U.S. backstop wouldn’t be necessary because Putin could be trusted not to violate a peace deal.
That is not a view shared by European leaders or Zelenskyy. At his news conference with Trump, Macron said Putin had violated previous agreements with Ukraine, underscoring why strong deterrence that included a U.S. backstop was necessary.
