Zelensky-Trump public feud: The agreement with Ukraine is canceled!
After weeks of intense negotiations and statements between Washington and Kiev, expectations were high for the first meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
However, perhaps no one expected it to turn into a heated debate live on TV, and now Trump is saying that the raw minerals deal with Ukraine, which brought Zelenskyy to the White House on Friday, was canceled.
" I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he thinks our involvement gives him a huge advantage in the negotiations," Trump said in a post on his Social Truth platform on Friday. "I don't want advantages, I want peace. He has not respected the United States of America in their beloved Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace," he said.
Friday's meeting didn't seem tense at first, but it changed in tone and became less diplomatic when U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Zelenskyy that Ukraine didn't have enough people to continue fighting. The Ukrainian president responded that JD Vance hadn't been to Ukraine to say that, adding, " come and see ." Things got increasingly heated from that point on.
Zelenskyy stressed the need for security guarantees, which Kiev has repeatedly insisted on. Trump interrupted Zelenskyy and told him to "be grateful " for what the US had already done to help Ukraine.
“ You should be more grateful. You don’t have the cards. With us you have the cards. But without us, you have no cards, ” Trump said. “ Your country is in big trouble ,” the US president continued, adding, “ You are not winning this.” “ If you could get a ceasefire now, I would tell you to accept it so the bullets stop flying,” Trump said.
Zelenskyy replied: "Of course I want to stop the war ," when Trump interrupted him with "You say you don't want a ceasefire." The Ukrainian president then said he wanted a ceasefire, but with security guarantees. Reiterating that Ukraine could only defend itself for three years because of U.S. military aid, Trump said: "If you didn't have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks ." " In three days, (as) I heard from (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, " Zelenskyy replied.
'Just say thank you'
JD Vance also told the Ukrainian president to " just say thank you," accusing Zelenskyy of disrespect. " You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October. Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who is trying to save your country, " Vance said.
The US vice president was referring to Zelenskyy's visit to a munitions factory in Pennsylvania last fall. The two presidents' planned post-meeting press conference was canceled, and Zelenskyy abruptly left the White House.
"Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you, President, Congress, and the American people, " the Ukrainian leader said in a message after the meeting at the X on Friday. " Ukraine needs a just and lasting peace, and we are working on exactly that. " In addition, House Speaker Mike Johnson called on Zelenskyy to dismiss his ambassador to the U.S. amid the Ukrainian leader's growing tension with Trump and his allies.
After the visit, Johnson sent a letter demanding the immediate dismissal of Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., accusing her of interfering in the presidential election by arranging the Ukrainian president's visit in October. He called the visit a "partisan campaign activity designed to help Democrats."
“ The facility was in a politically contested battleground state, was run by a senior political surrogate for Kamala Harris, and failed to include a single Republican because no Republicans were intentionally invited,” the Louisiana Republican wrote. Zelenskyy toured the munitions factory, thanking the workers who produce one of the most needed munitions for the war against Russia.
"Putin went through a lot of hell with me"
During the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting on Friday, one of the reporters asked what the United States would do if Russia violated the ceasefire. " What if something happens? What if a bomb drops on your head right now? What if they break it? I don't know. They broke it with (former US President Joe) Biden because they didn't respect him. They didn't respect (former US President Barack) Obama. They respect me ," Trump replied.
The current US president also launched an investigation based on suspicions of Russian influence in the 2016 US election and Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden. "Let me tell you, Putin had a very bad time with me. He went through a fake witch hunt where they used him and Russia... Russia, Russia, Russia ," Trump added, referring to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.
Trump also mentioned the laptop belonging to Hunter Biden, the data from which was later used by the media as evidence of the former US president's alleged corruption. "And then they said: 'Oh, the laptop from hell was made by Russia... This was all a hoax, and he (Putin) had to put up with it. He was accused of all those things,'" Trump said.
"All I can say is this: he may have broken deals with Obama and Bush and he may have broken them with Biden... Maybe he did, I don't know what happened. But he didn't break them with me. He wants to make a deal ," Trump said, expressing his confidence in Putin.
Trump was impeached during his first term as president in 2019 over a phone call he had with the Ukrainian leader. During the call, Trump allegedly asked Zelenskyy to open an investigation into Joe Biden, his main political rival, and his son. Various officials said Trump withheld aid to Ukraine at the time over his demands that its government investigate Biden.
Poll
Durrës-Prishtina/Balluku Railway: Feasibility study completed. The path to implementation is open!
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku announced today that the feasibility study and design project for the......
How many soldiers and other investments does Europe need to defend itself without the US!
A new joint report by the Bruegel think tank and the Kiel Institute has warned that renewed Russian aggression in Europe is “imaginable,” citing NATO claims......
Oil sees first monthly decline since November – Cause, uncertainty about the global economy and fuel demand!
Oil prices eased on Friday as they headed for their first monthly decline since November, dragged down by uncertainty over global economic growth and fuel......
"Free trade pact, within the year" - EU-India agree to accelerate talks to reach agreement
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the European Union have agreed to push for the conclusion of a free trade pact this year, European Commission......
TIA: From March 1, passengers at Rinas will have an electronic boarding pass!
TIA announces that starting tomorrow, March 1, passengers who already have an electronic boarding pass on their phone can travel from Tirana International......
How much does the pedestrian project in the former Block cost? - Pashako: Parking lots will be eliminated, lanes will continue as they are
The project that is expected to transform the former Blloku into a pedestrian zone will cost around 3 million euros. Tv Scan sheds light on the project,......
OpenAI introduces GPT-4.5. New language model offers improvements in information accuracy
OpenAI has released the research preview of GPT-4.5, a broad, general-purpose language model. It will initially be available to software developers and......
How is America's appetite for gold 'sucking up' gold or silver bullion from other countries?!
Strong U.S. demand for gold is sucking up bullion or silver from several countries as traders try to stock up before U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on......
