Trump wrote on social media that Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not \u2018ready for peace if America is involved\u2019
\n Washington
\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy\u2019s meeting with United States President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, ended abruptly after the two leaders clashed in a heated exchange over Russia\u2019s war against Kyiv.
\nAt the Oval Office on Friday, Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, berated Zelenskyy for being \u201cdisrespectful\u201d and not thanking the US enough for its support.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re gambling with the lives of millions of people,\u201d Trump shouted. \u201cYou\u2019re gambling with World War III, and what you\u2019re doing is very disrespectful to the country \u2013 this country.\u201d
\nZelenskyy, who was meeting with Trump to convince him not to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discuss possible US security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, told Trump that there would be \u201cno compromises with a killer on our territory\u201d.
\nAs the Ukrainian leader left the White House shortly after the verbal match, Trump took to the Truth Social social media app, which he owns, to write that Zelenskyy was not \u201cready for peace if America is involved\u201d.
\n\u201cHe disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace,\u201d he added.
\nZelenskyy posted on X after the meeting to thank the US for its support.
\n\u201cThank you POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that,\u201d he wrote.
\nHere is how some world leaders reacted to the heated dispute:
\nUnited States
\nRepublican Senator Lindsey Graham urged Zelenskyy to prioritise a rare earth minerals deal over security guarantees or a ceasefire with Russia.
\n\u201cI talked to Zelenskyy this morning \u2013 don\u2019t take the bait. President Trump was in a very good mood last night,\u201d Graham said outside the White House.
\nA vocal Ukraine supporter and Trump ally, Graham called the meeting an \u201cutter disaster\u201d and questioned future US dealings with Zelenskyy. \u201cI don\u2019t know if we can ever do business with Zelenskyy again,\u201d he said, adding that the Ukrainian president should apologise to Trump or for Ukraine to \u201cget someone new\u201d to lead the country.
\nTop Democratic leaders condemned Trump\u2019s handling of the talks. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused him of doing Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s \u201cdirty work\u201d, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the exchange \u201cappalling\u201d.
\n\u201cThe United States must not reward Russian aggression,\u201d Jeffries said. \u201cWe should stand with Ukraine until victory is won.\u201d
\nRussia
\nDmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of the Russian Security Council, wrote on Telegram that Trump had given Ukraine a \u201cstrong slap on the wrist\u201d.
\n\u201cFor the first time, Trump told the cocaine clown the truth to his face: The Kyiv regime is playing with the Third World War. And the ungrateful pig received a strong slap on the wrist from the owners of the pigsty. This is useful. But it\u2019s not enough \u2013 we must stop military aid to the Nazi machine,\u201d said Medvedev, who is also a former Russian president.
\nMaria Zakharova, the spokesperson for Russia\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also praised Trump for showing \u201crestraint\u201d with the Ukrainian leader, whom she called a \u201cscumbag\u201d.
\n\u201cI think Zelenskyy\u2019s biggest lie of all his lies was his assertion in the White House that the Kyiv regime in 2022 was alone, without support,\u201d she wrote on Telegram. \u201cHow Trump and Vance held back from hitting that scumbag is a miracle of restraint.\u201d
\nEuropean Union
\nEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola all told Zelenskyy in a joint post: \u201cYour dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be brave, be fearless.
\n\u201cWe will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace.\u201d
\nThe bloc\u2019s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, meanwhile, said it was clear that \u201cthe free world needs a new leader.\u201d
\n\u201cUkraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine,\u201d she said in a social media post.
\n\u201cWe will step up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back [against] the aggressor,\u201d she added. \u201cToday, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It\u2019s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trump wrote on social media that Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not \u2018ready for peace if America is involved\u2019 Washington Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy\u2019s meeting with United States President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, ended abruptly after the two leaders clashed in a heated exchange over Russia\u2019s war against Kyiv. At the Oval Office on Friday, Trump […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-464604","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n