Zelensky left Washington early without signing a mineral deal with the United States following a tense argument in front of journalists between the two leaders. Trump later reportedly ordered his officials to tell the Ukrainian delegation to leave the White House, despite protest from the Ukrainians.
Speaking to the BBC, Rutte stated that it was “important that President Zelensky finds a way to restore his relationship with the American president and with the senior American leadership team.”
Rutte, who said he has spoken to Zelensky twice since the incident, called the public argument “unfortunate.”
The secretary general noted that “we really have to give Trump credit,” for providing weapons to Ukraine during Trump’s first term in office, adding that that US commands “respect” for their support.
Rutte’s comments come as a number of European leaders reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and Zelensky.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas emphasized the EU’s commitment to stepping up assistance to Ukraine, enabling the country to continue resisting the aggressor.
“Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge,” Kallas posted on X.
Following the tense exchange, Zelensky appeared on Fox News to attempt to mend any fractured relations that may have emerged with Trump.
“We are very close partners,” Zelensky told Fox News, adding, “I think this kind of spat is not good for both sides.”
Ukraine’s president told Fox News’ Bret Baier that he doesn’t feel he needs to apologize to Trump after a heated exchange at the White House.
“No, I respect president, and I respect American people, and I think that we have to be very open and very honest and I’m not sure that we did something bad,” Zelensky stated, adding, “I think some things we have to discuss out of media with all respect to democracy and free media.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later called for Zelensky to apologize for how the meeting unfolded, questioning whether the Ukrainian leader was truly committed to peace.
When asked if Zelensky though the relationship could be salvaged following the tense exchange, Zelensky replied: “Yes, of course, because it’s more than to the president. It’s a historical relations between our people.”
