Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting devolves into shouting match
- An Oval Office meeting between United States President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy has devolved into a shouting match, as Trump threatens: “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out.”
- Zelenskyy has left the White House early as Trump posted on Truth Social that the Ukrainian president “can come back when he is ready for Peace”.
- Several European leaders have expressed support for Zelenskyy after the heated exchange, saying they stand with Kyiv.
- Trump and Zelenskyy have failed to sign an expected deal on Ukrainian rare earth minerals amid the White House row.
Where does Trump-Zelenskyy row leave Europe?
That’s the big question.
European leaders have already been toeing a fine line, trying to stay on Trump’s good side while also stressing that peace in Ukraine cannot come at any cost.
As we’ve been reporting, several leaders – including France’s Macron and Spain’s Sanchez – have expressed support for Kyiv after the heated Oval Office exchange.
But “the Europeans are going to be very concerned” by what we’ve seen in Washington, DC today, Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford reported.
European leaders will be meeting in London on Sunday to discuss defence for Ukraine.
Republicans hail Trump’s attack on Zelenskyy
Several members of the US president’s cabinet as well as Republican lawmakers have hailed Trump’s exchange with the Ukrainian president as a sign of strong “American leadership”.
“American leadership is back — in the Oval Office — and on the world stage. FEARLESS. BOLD. RELENTLESS. We will save America,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins wrote on X.
“Thank you @POTUS for standing strong for America while working to end the killing abroad,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum also wrote.
Republican Congressman Ralph Norman also said the exchange demonstrated “strong leadership that is ensuring we put the American people FIRST”.
Norman thanked Trump and Vance for “standing up for our nation”.
No comments:
Post a Comment