WASHINGTON ( WNAM MONITORING): US President Donald Trump said Friday that a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House did not work great, and the Ukrainian leader overplayed his hand.
Speaking to reporters before he departed for Florida, Trump reiterated that he is looking for peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
His remarks came after a heated exchange between Zelenskyy, Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Trump said the meeting at the Oval Office “didn’t work out exactly great.”
“From his standpoint, he very much overplayed his hand. We’re looking for peace. We’re not looking for somebody that’s going to sign up a strong power and then not make peace because they feel emboldened,” said Trump. “We’re not looking to go into a 10-year war and play games.”
Trump said Zelenskyy was looking to continue the war and “fight, fight, fight.”
“This is a man that wants to get us signed up and keep fighting,” he said.
“But he’s dealing with a very weak set of cards. … I want immediate peace. President Putin is going to want to make, and he wants to make –he wants to end it,” said Trump.
The US president stressed that Zelenskyy “wants to come back right now, but I can’t do that. They should have an immediate ceasefire.”
“Either we’re going to end it or let him fight it out. And if he fights it out, it’s not going to be pretty, because without it, without us, he doesn’t win,” he added.
The highly undiplomatic war of words lasted roughly 10 minutes as Zelenskyy sought to defend his handling of the more than three-year conflict with Russia.
Zelenskyy departed the White House following the public spat. A planned signing ceremony for a deal on critical minerals and news conference were canceled.
