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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that it would be “difficult” for Ukraine to hold off Russia without US support and that he believed the relationship with the White House could be repaired after President Donald Trump shouted at him in an angry White House meltdown accusing the Ukrainian leader of refusing to make peace with Russia. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.
Top US diplomat calls on Zelensky to apologize for clash with Trump
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Friday for Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to apologize for an earlier clash with President Donald Trump.
Zelensky should “apologize for wasting our time for a meeting that was going to end the way it did,” Rubio said on CNN.
Zelensky declined to apologize in an interview with Fox News’s Brett Baier. “I think that we have to be very open and very honest, and I’m not sure that we did something bad,” Zelensky said.
‘Of course’ relationship with US can be salvaged, Zelensky says
Zelensky said he believed Kyiv’s relationship with the United States could be salvaged, following a dramatic clash with US President Donald Trump at the White House Friday.
“Of course” the relationship between the wartime allies can be fixed, Zelensky told Fox News, adding that he does not want to lose the United States as a partner — while saying he wants Trump to be “really more on our side.”
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump openly clashed in the White House on Friday at a meeting where they were due to sign a deal on sharing Ukraine’s mineral riches and discuss a peace deal with Russia.
- Zelensky left the White House without signing a critical minerals deal with Trump had demanded and suggested was a condition for future support for Ukraine.
- Following the clash, European leaders sent messages of support to Zelensky. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said “the free world needs a new leader”. “It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge,” she added in her social media post.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
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