Trump keeps pressure on Zelensky, says meeting ‘didn’t work out exactly great’
Saturday, 1 March 2025
US President Donald Trump says the explosive White House meeting “didn’t work out exactly great”, and he wants an “immediate” ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
The statements came after Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Volodymyr Zelensky for being “disrespectful” in an extraordinary Oval Office meeting, before the Ukrainian president left, and the signing of a minerals deal with the US was abruptly called off.
Trump continued his pressure on the Ukrainian leader in comments to reporters on Friday (NZT Saturday) before he left the White House for his home in Florida.
“I want it to end immediately,” Trump said.
“I want a ceasefire now,” and warned Zelensky to make peace or lose American support
Trump also said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the invasion of Ukraine three years ago, was ready for a peace deal.
Trump repeated his earlier comments that Ukraine had a weak hand, and said “you can’t embolden somebody that doesn’t have the cards.” Without US support, he said, Ukraine will lose.
“You saw what I saw today,” Trump said. “This is a man that wants to get us signed up and keep fighting. We’re not doing that.”
Following the White House visit, Zelensky said Ukraine wouldn’t enter peace talks with Russia until it had security guarantees against another offensive.
“I respect the president and I respect the American people,” Zelensky said.
Responding to Trump’s claim that Zelensky wasn’t interested in peace, the Ukrainian leader told Fox News host Brett Baier that nobody wanted to finish the war more than Ukrainians.
But even if he gave an order to stop fighting, Zelensky said, “nobody will just stop” because everyone is afraid “Putin will come back tomorrow”.
“We want just and lasting peace,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky said the Oval Office spat with Trump was “not good for both sides” but he believed his relationship with Trump can be salvaged.
“I’m not sure that we did something bad,” he said.
Starmer and the European reaction
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with both Trump and Zelensky after the meeting, and maintained his strong support for Ukraine, his office said in a statement.
“He retains unwavering support for Ukraine, and is doing all he can to find a path forward to a lasting peace based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine,” the statement said.
Starmer, who had a good rapport with Trump during a meeting at the White House this week, was hosting a summit of European leaders Sunday in London to discuss support for Ukraine and the security of the continent.
He planned to meet with Zelensky in advance of the meeting.
European leaders had also pledged late Friday (NZT Saturday) to stand by Ukraine in the wake of the contentious Oval Office meeting that spurred rapid reaction around the world.
European leaders already were shaken by Vance’s speech to the Munich Security Conference two weeks ago in which he lectured them about the state of their democracy.
As prime ministers and presidents across the continent scrambled to respond, they have held a series of emergency summits to discuss security.
Zelensky responded to the European leaders’ reaction saying “thank you for your support” on X to each.
Taking a different position, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán praised Trump, and also cast Zelensky as working against peace in his own country.
“Strong men make peace, weak men make war,” Orbán wrote on X. “Today President Donald Trump stood bravely for peace. Even if it was difficult for many to digest. Thank you, Mr. President!”
Orbán was a consistent backer of the Kremlin and had been outspokenly antagonistic against neighbouring Ukraine.
After winning the last Hungarian elections in 2022, less than six weeks after Russia’s full-scale invasion, he cited Zelensky as one of the opponents he had defeated in the campaign.