US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky openly clash in the White House on February 28, 2025. [Photo/Agencies]
A White House meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday — which was expected to produce an agreement over rare earth minerals as a condition for ending Ukraine's three-year military conflict with Russia — turned dramatically contentious with no deal reached as video of the clash reverberated around the globe.
The last 10 minutes of the nearly 45-minute meeting deteriorated into a tense back and forth between Trump, Vice-President JD Vance and Zelensky, who expressed skepticism about Russia's commitment to diplomacy.
US President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as US Vice-President JD Vance reacts at the White House in Washington, DC, US, February 28, 2025. [REUTERS/Brian Snyder]
"Let me tell you, you don't have the cards," Trump said. "With us, you have the cards — but without us, you don't have any cards.
"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 say they should have," Trump told Zelensky.
"You're either going to make a deal or we're out," Trump said. "And if we're out, you'll fight it out and I don't think it's going to be pretty."
Vance told Zelensky: "Mr. President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media."
Trump said Zelensky's "hatred" for Russian President Vladimir Putin was a roadblock to a diplomatic solution.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky leaves the White House early following a heated meeting with US President Donald Trump on February 28, 2025. [Photo/Agencies]
"You see the hatred he's got for Putin," Trump said. "That's very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate."
The Ukrainian leader was asked to leave the White House by top Trump advisers shortly after the US president yelled at him.
Trump later told reporters, shortly before leaving for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for the weekend, that he wanted an "immediate cease-fire" between Russia and Ukraine but expressed doubt that Zelensky was ready to make peace.
Zelensky, who engaged in the dispute entirely in English, made an appearance on Fox News on Friday evening in which he said his public disagreement with Trump and Vance was "not good for both sides".
But Zelensky said that the US president — who maintained that Putin is ready to end the war — should understand that Ukraine can't change its stance toward Russia so quickly.
The press conference was cancelled following a heated meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 28, 2025. [Photo/Agencies]
Zelensky said that Ukraine won't engage in peace talks with Russia until it has security guarantees.
"It's so sensitive for our people," Zelensky said. "And they just want to hear that America (is) on our side, that America will stay with us. Not with Russia, with us. That's it."
Following the meeting, Trump posted on his social media site that he had "determined" that Zelensky "is not ready for Peace".
"He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace," Trump wrote.
The prospects for the minerals deal were uncertain. A Trump administration official said later on Friday that all American aid to Ukraine could be canceled soon, The New York Times reported.
The Oval Office clash further opened the divide in US politics, with some Democrats suggesting Zelensky was set up by Trump and Vance in the meeting.
"Trump and Vance are doing Putin's dirty work," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said.
Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said, "They're popping champagne in the Kremlin."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said: "Thanks to President Trump, the days of America being taken advantage of and disrespected are over. What we witnessed in the Oval Office today was an American president putting America first."
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni proposed "an immediate summit" between the United States and European allies "to speak frankly about how we intend to face today's great challenges, starting with Ukraine".
Agencies contributed to this story.
