US president Donald Trump shouted at Ukraine’s leader during an extraordinary meeting in the Oval Office on Friday, berating president Volodymyr Zelenskiy for “gambling with millions of lives” and suggesting his actions could trigger world war three.
The last 10 minutes of the nearly 45-minute engagement devolved into a tense back and forth between Mr Trump, vice-president JD Vance and Mr Zelenskiy – who urged scepticism about Russia’s commitment to diplomacy, citing Moscow’s years of broken commitments on the global stage.
It began with Mr Vance telling Mr Zelenskiy: “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.”
Mr Zelenskiy tried to object, prompting Mr Trump to raise his voice and say: “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people.
“You’re gambling with world war three, 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.”
Mr Vance questioned why Mr Zelenskiy had not said “thank you” for US military aid during the meeting.
“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.”
Earlier in the meeting Mr 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,” Mr Trump said. “We’re looking forward to getting the war finished so we can do other things.”
Mr Trump suggested that Mr Zelenskiy was not in a position to be demanding concessions.
“You’re not in a good position. You don’t have the cards right now,” Mr Trump said pointing his finger toward Mr Zelenskiy. “With us you start having cards.”
He also accused Mr Zelenskiy of being “disrespectful” to the US.
When Mr Zelenskiy warned the US would “feel it in the future” if it did not continue to support Ukraine, Mr Trump appeared angry.
“Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem,” he hit back.
After Mr Vance’s interjection − “again, just say thank you” − and criticism of the Ukrainian leader for litigating “disagreements” in front of the press, Mr Trump 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,” Mr Trump said, before adding, “This is going to be great television.”
The harsh words came at a pivotal and precarious moment for Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskiy 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.
He had been due to sign a landmark economic agreement giving the US an interest in Ukraine’s valuable minerals and securing US funding for the country’s postwar reconstruction, a deal that would closely tie the two countries together for years to come.
Before tempers flared at the meeting, Mr 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,” Mr Trump said, adding, “it is a big commitment from the United States.”
He said the US wanted 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, Mr Zelenskiy called Russian president Vladimir Putin a terrorist and told Mr Trump that Ukraine and the world needeed “no compromises with a killer”.
“Even during the war there are rules,” he said. − AP
