What did Trump, Zelensky, and Vance talk about? Basic information

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US and Ukrainian Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky met in Washington on February 28. The meeting took place in the Oval Office of the White House. At the beginning of the meeting, they announced that they were going to sign an agreement on minerals. Trump told reporters that this document would be a “big commitment from the United States.” “And we look forward to the opportunity to start digging, digging, digging and working to get some of the rare earth metals,” Trump said. Zelensky, in turn, expressed hope that “this document will be a step forward for Ukraine.”

During the meeting, Zelensky called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “murderer and a terrorist” and told Trump that “there should be no compromise with a murderer.” Zelensky showed Trump photos of Ukrainian soldiers released after their release from Russian captivity.

Zelensky told Ukraine that a “ceasefire” was not enough because “Putin has violated it 25 times.” In response, Trump said that the war would end if the parties reached a peace agreement. “Russia does not want to go back [to the war], no one wants to go back,” Trump said. He also added that Washington had “started to work out the parameters of a deal” to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

[b]At the end of the 45-minute meeting, Zelensky, Trump, and US Vice President Jay Dee Vance got into a heated argument. According to a video of the meeting, Vance accused Zelensky of disrespecting the US and Trump. “Mr. President, with all due respect. I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office and be questioned in front of the American press,” the US vice president said.

When Zelensky tried to object, Trump said: “You’re not in a good position. You’re out of luck right now... You’re playing with the lives of millions of people... You’re playing with World War III,” Trump said.

“You’re disrespecting our country,” Trump told Zelensky. The US president stressed that Zelensky had no right to “say what America feels.” “You’ve been in a bad situation since the war started,” the US president said. “You should be grateful. People are dying, you’re short of troops. You can’t say I want a ceasefire or I don’t want one,” Trump added.

During the debate, Trump said that Ukraine should agree to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war. “Can you act from a position of strength without the United States? Your people are brave. Either we make this deal. Or you walk away from the deal. I understand it’s going to be tough, it’s going to be difficult. But you have no excuse. When we make the deal, you’re in the best position. But you have to be grateful. And you’re not doing that. That’s not very good. That’s not very good of you,” Trump told Zelensky.

After the open part of the negotiations, Trump wrote on his Truth Social media account that Zelensky was not ready to resolve the war peacefully:

Today was a very important meeting at the White House. We learned a lot of things in these circumstances, under such pressure, that we couldn’t understand without talking. It is strange that emotions do not come out, and I have come to the conclusion that President Zelensky is not ready for peace if America intervenes, because he believes that our presence will give him a huge advantage in the negotiations. I do not want an advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States in the hallowed Oval Office. When he is ready for peace, he can return.

Zelensky leaves the White House early. Trump and Zelensky's joint press conference canceled. Zelensky's early departure from the White House was first reported by Reuters. Trump administration officials told Fox News that the US president "kicked" Zelensky out of the White House after a public altercation.

“The president felt disrespected, and the officials in the room, in addition to the language barrier that we heard, saw Zelensky’s body language, his shrugs and his narrowed eyes as ingratitude, disrespect. The president believes that Zelensky is not ready for peace and that he can come back when he is ready to talk about peace, but he is not in that position right now,” Fox News journalist Jackie Heinrich said on the air.

He added that White House officials had said that "the Ukrainians had asked to return to the talks," but Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's national security adviser Mike Walz told the Ukrainian delegation that Zelensky should leave the White House grounds and return when he was ready for peace. According to CNN, Rubio and other Trump advisers believed that Zelensky was not ready for talks, so the Ukrainian delegation was asked to leave and was not even given lunch.

The parties were expected to hold a joint press conference after the talks, but it was canceled, CNN reports. The signing of a mineral rights agreement between the United States and Ukraine was also canceled, Fox News journalist Jackie Heinrich reported, citing the White House. The agreement was not signed, the White House press secretary confirmed. The Trump administration insists that the signing of the agreement depends on Ukraine.

Zelensky thanked the US in a post on social media after the talks:
Thank you, America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you to the President, the Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs a just and lasting peace, and we are working towards that goal.

The White House said that Trump and Vance “will not allow the American people to be used for their own interests.” The press service of the US presidential administration issued a statement containing some of the statements of the president and vice president after the talks. “President Donald J. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance will always defend the interests of the American people and those who respect the position of the United States in the world and will never allow the American people to be used for their own interests,” the statement said.

Elon Musk wrote after the White House brawl that Zelensky “destructed himself in front of the American people.” Meanwhile, former US National Security Adviser John Bolton said Trump and Vance “showed themselves on Russia’s side in the Russia-Ukraine war.” Russian Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev wrote that Trump “treated Zelensky mercilessly in the Oval Office.” Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on social media: “Dear Volodymyr Zelensky, dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone.” Leaders from France, Germany, Spain and other European countries also immediately expressed their support for the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted: “I hope that Ukraine will not lose the support of the United States, which is very important for us.” The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, expressed his support for the Ukrainian people and stressed that no one should forget that Russia is the aggressor and Ukraine is the victim of aggression. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”