Trump, Zelenskyy joint press conference canceled after pair clash at White House
A joint press conference between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was canceled Friday afternoon after the pair clashed during a meeting at the White House.
Trump and Zelenskyy met at 11 a.m. ET to discuss several topics pertinent to both countries, including a minerals deal and the potential end to the Russia-Ukraine war. They were supposed to address the press together after the conclusion of the meeting around 1 p.m. ET.
However, the news conference was canceled a little after 1 p.m., according to multiple media reports, and Zelenskyy was seen leaving the White House. The update came after Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy had a terse exchange during which Vance told Zelenskyy he was being "disrespectful" to Trump and should be thanking the U.S. rather than lecturing it on the cause of the war.
Zelenskyy told him as tempers flared that an ocean separates the U.S. from the conflict now, "but you will feel it in the future."
Trump posted on Truth Social around 1:16 p.m. saying he had a "meaningful meeting in the White House today" but that he believed Zelenskyy is "not ready for Peace if America is involved."
"It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations," the post read. "I don’t want advantage [sic], 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," he continued.
U.S. alignment with Russia has shifted under Trump presidency
The pair had exchanged verbal blows in the weeks leading up to the meeting, with Zelenskyy accusing Trump of spreading Russian disinformation about the war and Trump accusing Zelenskyy of being a "dictator."
Three years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution that takes a neutral position on the conflict as Trump seeks to broker an end to the war. The resolution displays a more favorable view of Russia shown by Trump than his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.
“I want to coordinate our position with the American position," Zelenskyy said in a Kyiv press conference Wednesday. "The war is in Ukraine, so for me, the Ukrainian position is the priority,”
Contributing: Reuters; Francesca Chambers and Joey Garrison, Paste BN