What triggered Trump-Zelenskyy heated argument at White House meet? Vance asked Ukrainian President to…, Team Ukraine was…

Trump also asserted that the Russia-Ukraine war would been over within two weeks if Zelenskyy's Ukraine did not have US weapons.

Russia-Ukraine war: A high-stakes meeting between US President Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday turned into a heated verbal clash as the Ukrainian President flatly turned down Washington’s ceasefire proposal and getting into an argument with Vice President JD Vance who stressed the need for “diplomacy” to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Here’s what went down at the Trump-Zelenskyy that began with smiles and handshakes, but lasted just over 40 minutes after a public blowup in front of the media, following which the Ukrainian delegation was to leave the White House while the formal lunch with the US President remaining untouched, according to reports.

‘US tried the Joe Biden way’

“For four years, the United States of America had a president who stood up at press conferences and talked tough about Vladimir Putin, and then Putin invaded Ukraine and destroyed a significant chunk of the country. The path to peace and the path to prosperity is, maybe, engaging in diplomacy,” Vance said while taking a swipe at Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden.

“We tried the pathway of Joe Biden, of thumping our chest and pretending that the president of the United States’ words mattered more than the president of the United States’ actions. What makes America a good country is America engaging in diplomacy. That’s what President Trump is doing,” the US Vice President added in response to a question from a reporter.

‘Putin violated ceasefire, annexed Crimea, nobody stopped him’

Interrupting Vance, Zelenskyy said if he could a question. “Sure. Yeah,” said Vance.

“Okay. So he (Vladimir Putin) occupied it, our parts, big parts of Ukraine, parts of east and Crimea. So, he occupied it in 2014. During a lot of years – I’m not speaking about just Biden, but those times was (Barack) Obama, then President Trump, then President Biden, now President Trump and God bless, now, President Trump will stop him. But during 2014, nobody stopped him. He just occupied and took. He killed people,” Zelenskyy said, while referring to Putin’s annexation of Crimea.

“Yes, but from 2014 till 2022, the situation was the same. People have been dying on the contact line. Nobody stopped him. You know that we had conversations with him, a lot of conversations…. And we signed a deal with him. (French President Emmanuel) Macron and (former German Chancellor Angela) Merkel signed a ceasefire. All of them told me that he will never go… But after that, he broke the ceasefire, he killed our people, and he didn’t exchange prisoners. We signed the exchange of prisoners. But he didn’t do it. What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about? What do you mean?” the Ukrainian President asked.

Vance slams Zelenskyy’s ‘propaganda tour’

“I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country,” Vance responded.

“Mr President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media. Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the frontlines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president,” the US Vice President added as Zelenskyy tried to respond.

Zelenskyy then asked if Vance had ever been to Ukraine to witness the country’s problems first hand. “I’ve actually watched and seen the stories, and I know what happens is you bring people on a propaganda tour, Mr President,” Vance responded as the argument reached a fever pitch.

“Do you disagree that you’ve had problems with bringing people in your military, and 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?” JD Vance asked the Ukrainian President.

“Everybody has problems during the war, even the US. You have nice solutions and don’t feel (it) now, but you will feel it in the future,” Zelenskyy answered triggering a response from Donald Trump.

‘Don’t tell us how we feel’

“You don’t know that. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel,” Trump said.

“I am not telling you, I am answering…,” Zelensky said as the back and forth continued in front of the world media.

“You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel. We’re going to feel very good and very strong. You right now are not in a very good position. You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position” Trump said as he raised his voice while Zelenskyy tried to interrupt him

“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people, you’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to this country,” added the US President.

Zelenskyy not ‘thankful’

Then, Vance asked Zelenskyy if he had said “thank you even once”. “A lot of times,” the Ukraine President responded.

“No, in this meeting, this entire meeting? Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country,” Vance fired back.

“Yes, you think that if you will speak very loudly about the war…” Zelenskyy responded as Trump cut him off.

“He’s not speaking loud. Your country is in big trouble. No, no, you’ve done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble. You’re not winning this. You have a damn good chance of coming out OK, because of us,” Trump said.

‘Hard to do business like this’

Trump also asserted that the Russia-Ukraine war would been over within two weeks if Zelenskyy’s Ukraine did not have US weapons.  “I heard it from Putin in three days,” Zelenskyy said.

“It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this. You’re buried there. Your people are dying. You’re running low on soldiers. No, listen… And then you tell us, ‘I don’t want a cease fire. I don’t want a cease fire. I want to go and I want this,” Trump responded.

“You’re not acting at all thankful. And that’s not a nice thing. I’ll be honest, that’s not a nice thing. All right, I think we’ve seen enough. What do you think? “This is going to be great television, I will say that,” the US President added as the 40-minute meeting ended on a bitter note.

Trump comments on clash with Zelenskyy

Following the bitter clash with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump said “can come back when he is ready for peace”.

“We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,” the US President posted on X.

“I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace,” he added.

Zelenskyy defends stance, refuses to apologize

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later called for Zelenskyy to apologize for White House clash with Trump. Rubio said that Zelenskyy should “apologize for wasting our time for a meeting that was going to end the way it did”.

However, the Ukrainian President adamantly defended his stance on the matter. “I’m not sure that we did something bad,” he told Fox News.

Zelenskyy, 47, rued that the ugly argument took place in front of the press, and expressed confidence that his ties with the US can still be mended.

The Ukrainian premier said US-Ukraine ties are about “more than two presidents,” adding that Ukraine badly needs Washington’s help in the fight against Russia.