‘Zelenskyy Overplayed His Hand; He Should…’: Donald Trump After Oval Office Spat

<p>US President Donald Trump, in a statement to the media, said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has overplayed his hand and that he should instead want to make peace. He added that Zelenskyy should say that he doesn&rsquo;t want to fight any longer because &ldquo;his people are dying&rdquo;.</p>
<p>His statement comes after a heated exchange between Trump, Zelenskyy, and US Vice President JD Vance at the Oval Office meeting on Friday, which was originally intended to focus on a minerals deal agreement. Trump accused the Ukrainian president of being &ldquo;disrespectful&rdquo; while he sought security guarantees from the United States amid the ongoing Russia- Ukraine war.</p>
<p>&ldquo;He [Zelenskyy] doesn’t have the cards…I don’t trust or distrust anybody. I just want to get a deal done and if the deal happens, good. But you can’t embolden somebody that does not have the cards…We are not going to keep fighting. We are going to get the war done or let them go and see what happens. Let them fight it out…,&rdquo; Trump told the media.</p>
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<p dir=”ltr” lang=”en”><a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WATCH</a> | Washington, DC: US President Donald Trump says, “He’s (Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy) got to say, I want to make peace. He doesn’t have to stand there and say about Putin this, Putin that, and all negative things. He’s got to say, I want to make peace. I don’t&hellip; <a href=”https://t.co/jsXAtI1paO”>pic.twitter.com/jsXAtI1paO</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href=”https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1895607608775754006?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>February 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<p>Trump said that he wants peace, &ldquo;I want anybody that’s going to make peace, if he [Zelenskyy] is capable of making peace, which he may or may not be, but I want somebody that’s going to make peace again.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Trump said that if he were going to sign a deal, it wouldn&rsquo;t mean that Zelenskyy could keep fighting. &ldquo;He’s got to stop the fighting, stop the death. He is losing hundreds of thousands of soldiers. It’s time to stop the death.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>ALSO READ: <span style=”color: #e03e2d;”><a style=”color: #e03e2d;” href=”https://news.abplive.com/news/world/trump-accuses-zelenskyy-of-disrespect-in-heated-oval-office-meeting-us-russia-ukraine-war-white-house-meet-jd-vance-watch-1754620″>’What You&rsquo;re Doing Is Disrespectful’: Trump Blasts Zelenskyy In White House, Says ‘Gambling With World War 3′</a></span></strong></p>
<p>He mentioned that Zelenskyy was ready to come back, but he said, &ldquo;but I can’t do that&rdquo;. He said that the Ukrainian president was against a ceasefire and that ending the war would take time. &ldquo;Well, all of a sudden, he is a big shot because he has the US on his side. 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 easy as without us, he doesn’t win.&rdquo;</p>
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<p dir=”ltr” lang=”en”><a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WATCH</a> | Washington, DC: US President Donald Trump says, “He (Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy) says that he wants to come back right now, but I can’t do that…They should have an immediate ceasefire…A ceasefire could take place immediately. If you want to end the war,&hellip; <a href=”https://t.co/Fa5Z3tcd3m”>pic.twitter.com/Fa5Z3tcd3m</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href=”https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1895609030686691735?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>February 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<p>Towards the end, he said that Zelenskyy wasn&rsquo;t someone who wanted to make peace, adding that he was only interested if Zelenskyy &ldquo;wanted to end bloodshed&rdquo;.</p>
<p><strong>Zelenskyy Says He Hasn&rsquo;t Done Anything Bad</strong></p>
<p>Meanwhile, Zelenskyy did not directly answer whether he owes Trump an apology and maintained he had not done “something bad.”</p>
<p>”I think that we have to be very open and very honest. And I&rsquo;m not sure that we did something bad,” Zelenskyy said, according to Anadolu. He said he respects Trump and the American people. He said the public spat “is not good for both sides.”</p>
<p>Zelenskyy reiterated that he is thankful to Trump and the American Congress for their support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US and Ukraine “have to be on the same side.” He said he hopes Trump would be on Ukraine’s side, which he said is “very important to stop (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.”</p>
<p>According to Anadolu, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to sign the minerals deal, which could be the first step to security guarantees, and he rejected a just ceasefire without a security guarantee. “This so sensitive for our people. … They just want to hear that America is on our side and that America will stay with us,” said the Ukrainian president. Zelenskyy said he could not change Ukrainians’ attitude toward Russia.</p>
<p>”And I don’t want it. They kill us, I can’t say just stop, because everybody is afraid that Putin will come back tomorrow, we want just and lasting peace. It’s true. We want security guarantees,” he added, reported Anadolu.</p>