Zelensky departed in his motorcade around 1:45 p.m. local time, without holding a joint news conference scheduled for later in the day, after the two leaders got into a heated argument while speaking with journalists in the Oval Office.
“He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace,” Trump posted on TruthSocial.
CNN reported that following the exchange, Zelensky and Trump left to separate rooms, with the Ukrainian delegation wanting to continue talks with the Trump administration.
Trump later ordered his officials to tell the Ukrainian officials to leave the White House, despite protest from the Ukrainian delegation.
A source familiar with the matter told CNN that the mineral deal between the U.S. and Ukraine was not signed following the tense exchange.
A White House official told Reuters that Trump felt “disrespected” by Zelensky’s “rhetoric and demeanor,” adding that Trump is not ruling an agreement with Zelensky, but it will be up to Kyiv to reschedule the meeting.
Trump said, after meeting with Zelensky at the White House, that Zelensky “is not ready for peace.”
Following the meeting, Zelensky commented on the meeting on social media, thanking the United States for their support. His comments likely come in response to Vance’s assertion amid the clash that Ukraine was not grateful for the US support.
“Have you said thank you once? In this entire meeting, have you said thank you?” Vance asked during the exchange.
“Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“Thank you POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
Zelensky has defended his behavior at the White House, saying he is not sure whether he “did anything bad,” following the tense exchange with Trump and Vance. He was responding to a question by Fox News’ Bret Baier on whether he should apologize for what Trump described as disrespect toward the American people.
In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Zelensky was asked whether he felt he had disrespected Trump, Vance, and the American people. He responded by first expressing gratitude for all the assistance the US has provided, but insisted that “tough dialogue” is necessary between “strategic partners.”
“And even in such tough dialogue, I think we have to be very honest, and we have to be very direct to understand each other,” Zelensky said.
When Baier pressed him again on whether he “owed an apology,” Zelensky denied that he did anything wrong.
“No, I respect the president, and I respect the American people… I’m not sure we did anything bad,” Zelensky stated, adding that some matters should be discussed privately.
“I think maybe sometimes some things we have to discuss outside the media, with all respect to democracy and to free media,” he noted, without clarifying whether he intends to apologize to Trump in private.
