After a dispute with US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on the US television channel Fox News.
About his relationship with Trump
Asked if he intended to apologize to Trump, Zelensky replied that he did not feel guilty.
“I respect the president and I respect the American people. I don’t think we did anything wrong,” he said.
Asked if he regretted the feud with Trump and Vance, the Ukrainian leader admitted that “it wasn’t good.” But at the same time, he stressed that his relationship with Trump should be higher than that of two presidents, because “this is a matter of relations between our peoples.”
Asked if he was now ready to return to the White House, Zelensky replied: “No.”
About American aid to Ukraine
“I am grateful to Trump and the people of the United States for their help. You helped us survive. Without US support, it will be difficult for us. That’s why I’m here,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president noted that he did not want to lose “our good partnership with the United States”, but at the same time complained about the lack of new military aid packages.
“With all due respect, we don’t see enough new support from the United States,” he said.
On the desire for guarantees of peace and security
The Ukrainian president stressed that Ukrainians need a lasting peace, not a ceasefire violated by Russia.
“No one wants the war to end as strongly as we Ukrainians. But [tačiau] peace is not just the absence of war,” Zelensky said, citing U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who is traditionally revered by Republicans.
The Ukrainian leader noted that he cannot simply order Ukrainians to stop resisting the aggressor.
“Nobody will stop because everyone is afraid that Putin will come back tomorrow,” he said.
Zelensky said he was open to diplomacy with Russia if the United States provided Ukraine with security guarantees.
“The Russians came to our house, everyone saw in the videos what they were doing. To say that Putin is a great man? It’s without us. Of course, no one will forget it, but we want it to happen again. Therefore, we need security guarantees,” he said.
The President noted that Ukraine is still ready to sign an agreement on mineral resources. In his opinion, this agreement could be the first step towards American guarantees.
At the same time, Zelensky stressed that Europe also needs some security guarantees from the United States to deploy European peacekeeping forces after the war in Ukraine ends.
Zelensky’s feud with Trump
As UNIAN wrote, President Zelensky met with his American counterpart Donald Trump and his Vice President J. D. Vance at the White House tonight. At first, the conversation was benevolent, with Trump even praising the Ukrainian leader and Ukrainian soldiers.
But Vance later intervened, demanding that Zelensky thank him for America’s help and insisting that Ukraine must accept the conditions imposed on it. A verbal conflict ensued, after which Zelensky left the White House prematurely. According to media reports, Trump kicked him out.
