President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has spoken about the outcome of his meeting with the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, saying it was not good.
According to him, the meeting held at the Oval Office, White House, was ‘not good for both sides’.
The Ukraine president expressed regret over the contentious meeting but said his relationship with Trump can be salvaged.
Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump, as widely reported, devolved into a shocking display of acrimony between the leaders.
There was a public confrontation as Trump and Vice-President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy, accusing him of “gambling with world war three.”
Speaking to Fox News after the meeting, Zelenskyy agreed the dispute was “not good for both sides” but refused to say whether he owes President Trump an apology or not.
Asked if he felt like he owed the US president an apology, Zelenskyy did not directly answer but instead said that “I think that we have to be very open and very honest. And I’m not sure that we did something bad.”
The Ukrainian leader made the trip to the US for a high-stakes meeting with Trump which was meant to be about the minerals deal the Ukrainians hoped would be a step toward unlocking security guarantees from the US as part of a ceasefire agreement to end the grueling war.
But after the disastrous on-camera dispute, Zelenskyy left the White House early, and a press conference to announce the minerals deal was scrapped.