Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has broken his silence after an explosive row with Donald Trump and JD Vance in the Oval Office.
Mr Zelensky issued an apology on X following the spat which saw him being kicked out of the White House.
In a post that appeared to be sarcastic, he expressed gratitude to America multiple times following accusations from the Vice President about his lack of appreciation for the support provided by the US.
He specifically mentioned, “Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
These remarks were made in response to criticism he faced for allegedly not showing enough respect to President Donald Trump during a tense exchange witnessed by journalists.
Since then, European leaders have all sided with Zelensky, sharing messages of support on X which have been retweeted by the Ukrainian leader.
Launching the attack, Mr Vance said: ‘Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media.’
This came after Trump was repeatedly interrupted by his Ukrainian counterpart and even had this statement disputed.
Trump blasted Zelensky for talking over him, saying: ‘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’
This came after he received a dressing down for not being respectful enough to President Donald Trump during the explosive row in front of journalists
A source familiar with the meeting at the White House told DailyMail.com that Zelensky’s demeanor was surprising to American officials in the room.
‘No one expected the meeting to play out as it did, because nobody expected to act that way,’ the source said.
Vance noted that Biden stood up for four years and ‘talked tough’ while ‘thumping his chest’ but Putin invaded Ukraine anyway.
‘The path to peace and the path to prosperity is maybe engaging in diplomacy,’ he said.
Zelensky explained that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been occupying parts of his country since 2014, beginning in Crimea, and that nobody would stop him and broke a negotiated ceasefire.
Trump blasted Zelensky for talking over him, saying: ‘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’.
He went on to say: ‘You have to be thankful. You don’t have the cards. You’re buried there. Your people are dying. You’re running low on soldiers.
‘Listen, you’re running low on soldiers. It would be a damn good thing… Then you tell us, I don’t want a cease fire. I don’t want to cease fire. I want to go and I want this’
He added: ‘You’re either gonna make a deal our we’re out. And if we’re out you’ll fight it out.’
Mr Zelensky was kicked out of the White House with Trump saying his counterpart ‘not ready for peace’
Mr Zelensky issued an apology on X following the spat which saw him being kicked out of the White House
Following the meeting, the US president issued a statement on his Truth social saying President Zelensky was ‘not ready for peace if America is involved’ as he feels the ‘[America’s] involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations’ and that he disrespected the country.
He said the two presidents had a ‘very meaningful meeting’ where ‘much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure’.
He added: ‘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.’
The fiery exchange happened as Trump met with Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Macron in Washington earlier this week.The US president hailed ‘special’ Sir Keir during an extraordinary meeting to discuss Ukraine’s future and the role the two countries have in the peacemaking process.
Sir Keir bagged diplomatic wins on trade and the Chagos Islands during the discussions
The PM’s stated top priority for the talks was securing agreement that the US would provide a security ‘backstop’ for thousands of British and European troops who could be sent to Ukraine to keep the peace if Mr Trump manages to broker a truce.
Failure to do so, he said, would allow Vladimir Putin to ‘come again’ and plunge Europe into war.
In the Oval Office, Sir Keir handed Mr Trump a letter from the King inviting him for an unprecedented second state visit, and he responded that he was ‘honoured’ and would be coming to the UK ‘soon’.
Despite the evident warmth, there was little in the way of concrete commitments from the US on Ukraine.
The PM lavished praise on Mr Trump’s efforts to bring peace, but stressed any settlement must be lasting and not favour ‘invader’ Vladimir Putin amid continuing doubts about whether the US will offer security guarantees.
