Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not apologize for his heated argument with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office but told Fox News that he believes their relationship can still be repaired, despite ongoing tensions over U.S. financial commitments and foreign aid policies.
The meeting between Zelenskyy, Trump, and Vice President JD Vance turned into a shouting match at the White House on Friday. The Ukrainian president had traveled to the U.S. to meet with Trump after the American leader said peace negotiations to end the war between Ukraine and Russia were in the final stages, a development with significant geopolitical and economic implications.
During an interview with Fox News, anchor Bret Baier asked Zelenskyy if he thought his relationship with Trump could be saved after the argument.
“Yes, of course, because it’s relations more than two presidents. It’s the historical relations, strong relations between our people, and that’s why I always began… to thank your people from our people,” Zelenskyy said. “Of course, thankful to the president, and, of course, to Congress, but first of all, to your people. Your people helped save our people… we wanted very much to have all these strong relations, and where it counted, we will have it.”
When asked about the heated exchange, Zelenskyy said he was “not sure that we did something bad” but admitted it was “bad for both sides.”
“I just want to be honest, and I just want our partners to understand the situation correctly, and I want to understand everything correctly. That’s about us not to lose our friendship,” he added.
During the White House meeting, Vice President JD Vance said that achieving peace between Russia and Ukraine required diplomatic efforts from the U.S. Zelenskyy responded by discussing Russia’s actions since 2014 and previous diplomatic efforts, emphasizing the broader impact on global security and international alliances.
Vance then interrupted him, saying, “Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media. Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”
Zelenskyy defended Ukraine’s position, saying that “everybody has problems, even you,” and warned that the U.S. would feel the economic impact of the war “in the future,” a statement highlighting concerns over global trade and energy security.
Trump quickly responded, saying, “You don’t know that,” while Zelenskyy told him, “God bless you.”
“Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel,” Trump fired back. “We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.”
Trump also accused Zelenskyy of “playing cards” with the situation, saying, “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III. You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country — this country — that’s backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have.”
At one point, Vance jumped in and asked Zelenskyy if he had “said thank you once this entire meeting.”
The tense argument lasted for several minutes, with Trump eventually telling Zelenskyy, “The problem is I’ve empowered you to be a tough guy, and I don’t think you’d be a tough guy without the United States. And your people are very brave, but you’re either going to make a deal, or we’re out — and if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty, but you’ll fight it out, but you don’t have the cards. But once we sign that deal, you’re in a much better position, but you’re not acting at all thankful, and that’s not a nice thing, I’ll be honest. That’s not a nice thing.”
When asked later about what sparked the argument, Zelenskyy said the way Ukraine was being portrayed upset him.
“When they, for example, say that Ukraine is almost destroyed, that our soldiers run away, that they are not heroes, that Ukraine lost millions of civilians, that his president is dictator. What is the reaction? It’s not about me. The reaction is that, where is our friendship between Ukraine and the United States? This is [the] feeling,” he explained. He also called for fairness when discussing the war. “It’s not funny or fairytale. This is real life. That’s what I said.”
Baier asked if Zelenskyy thought the confrontation had been planned in advance. Zelenskyy said he didn’t know but described the meeting as “a really tough situation because we’ve been very open, very direct.”
The Trump administration had been working on a deal with Ukraine that would allow the U.S. access to Ukraine’s mineral resources in exchange for economic support and foreign investment from the U.S. since the war began in 2022. This deal was supposed to be part of the larger peace agreement. However, after the intense argument in the Oval Office, the planned press conference was canceled, the mineral deal was scrapped, and Trump asked Zelenskyy to leave, according to a White House official who spoke to Fox News Digital.
