WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday that he is “gambling with World War III” amid ongoing talks over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Both leaders openly clashed in the White House at a meeting where they were due to sign a deal on sharing Ukraine’s minerals. “You’re not acting at all thankful. It’s not a nice thing,” the US president said.
Following the heated arguments the joint press conference of the US and Ukrainian presidents has been cancelled.
“It’s going to be very hard to do business like this,” he added. “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out,” a furious Trump told Zelensky.
“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War Three, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to this country,” Trump added.
“You can’t do any deals without compromises. So certainly he’s going to have to make some compromises, but hopefully they won’t be as big as some people think,” Trump said at a White House meeting.
But showing Trump pictures of war atrocities and referring to President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky said there should be “no compromises with a killer on our territory.”
“Crazy Russians,” he said, had deported Ukrainian children and committed war crimes during their three-year invasion of his country.
Despite the tension over who should make concessions in the search for an end to the war, Zelensky said, “I think President Trump is on our side.”
“This is crucial, this is what we want to speak about, this is very important,” he said.
Tensions flared when Vice President JD Vance stated that “diplomacy” was needed to end the war. Zelensky responded by asking, “What kind of diplomacy?” Vance then accused him of being “disrespectful” in the president’s office.
Zelensky told Trump that he should visit his embattled nation. “You have to come and to look.”
Later Trump said Zelensky can come back to Washington when he is ready for peace.
The meeting followed a week of intense diplomatic efforts, during which the leaders of France and Britain visited the White House to urge Trump not to abandon Kyiv.
.@VP: "Do you think that it's respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?"@POTUS: "You don't have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards … You're… pic.twitter.com/iTYyAmfuCJ
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 28, 2025
Two weeks ago, Trump upended years of US policy on Ukraine by holding a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the possibility of ending the three-year conflict without involving Kyiv.
But Trump’s tone has softened in recent days after visits by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“I have a lot of respect for him,” Trump said of Zelensky on Thursday. “We’re going to get along really well.”
The deal would give the United States a share in much of Ukraine’s mineral wealth. “We’ll be dig, dig, digging” for Ukraine’s resources, Trump told reporters Thursday.
Dictator without elections
The development comes a week after Trump alarmed allies by calling Zelensky a “dictator without elections” after Ukraine’s initial rejection of the deal.
Trump has said that the mineral deal is necessary for Washington to compensate the billions of dollars it has given to Ukraine in military and other aid.
Zelensky is seeking US security guarantees as part of any deal but Trump has so far refused to give any commitments.
President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance put AMERICA FIRST. pic.twitter.com/AkAvzKpcpb
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 28, 2025
The Ukrainian President said that revenues from the resources deal would be deposited in a fund co-owned by Ukraine and the United States and that Kyiv would not be “a debtor” over aid provided under the Biden administration.
“I have a lot of respect for him,” Trump said of Zelensky on Thursday at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “We’re going to get along really well.”
Britain and France have both offered peacekeepers in the event of a deal to end the Ukraine war but say there must be a US “backstop” — including American intelligence and possibly air power.
The deal is central to Ukrainian attempts to ensure strong support from Trump as he seeks a quick end to the Russia-Ukraine war.
