Zelensky Addresses ‘Complicated’ Aftermath of Oval Office Blowup With Trump

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview that aired on Sunday revealed the difficulty that followed the high-profile blowup between himself and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in late February.

Zelensky, speaking with ABC News’ Martha Raddatz in Ukraine, described the situation as “quite complicated” as he had to try and repair relations with his American counterpart.

“It’s important that I defend my position and I was trying to do that in the Oval Office,” he said.

Why It Matters

Trump had said he would end the conflict in Ukraine within 24 hours of retaking office, but later he admitted that the situation was fairly complicated, at times saying that Ukraine is “more difficult, frankly, to deal with.” Trump also said he worried Russian President Vladimir Putin may be trying to drag out peace negotiations while pressing on with the war that began in February 2022.

The lack of progress has prompted Trump to start taking a more laid-back approach to the conflict, best encapsulated last week when he compared the warring nations to “young children fighting like crazy…in a park.”

“You try to pull them apart and they don’t want to be pulled apart,” he said. “Sometimes you have to let them fight for a while.”

What To Know

Trump and Zelensky had a falling out on February 28 when the Ukrainian leader visited the White House to sign a deal that would grant the U.S. access to his country’s vast mineral reserves in a move the U.S. assured would create strong economic ties and deepen the threat to Russia continuing to escalate the conflict.

In the now-famous exchange, Zelensky asked about the value of deals when Putin had broken previously agreed upon ones, which in turn provoked an angry response from Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Trump declared that Zelensky had “no cards” to play in the conflict and needed the U.S. to have any chance of survival.

Speaking with Raddatz on Sunday through a translator, Zelensky maintained the need to defend his position and to stand up for his people.

“We all saw that Oval Office, chaotic, disastrous meeting. I know after that meeting, you tried to repair that relationship. Tell us what it was like in the aftermath,” Raddatz said.

“It’s quite complicated. You could watch it live, and it was very clear and very straightforward,” Zelensky said. “I used to remind everyone: Cameras don’t lie. Everybody could see on their television screens. I think the result of that meeting, I was very honest and open when I said that a small country is fighting for its life against the giant with all that evil they brought with their army and weapons to our land.”

He added: “Six hundred and thirty-one children lost their lives. For some, those are numbers, but for me, it’s important that I defend my position and I was trying to do that in the Oval Office.”

The pair would not speak directly again until they came face-to-face two months later at the funeral of Pope Francis in late April. Photos from that meeting show the two presidents sitting in close and isolated conversation.

Zelensky said Sunday that following that meeting, he would “like to believe that the relationship has changed for the better,” but added, “I don’t know for sure. I can’t give you 100 percent guarantee.”

The Ukrainian president also said he would like to speak more with Trump, but that other people “communicate with the president more than me and they deliver different messages to him.”

However, continuing to work with the U.S. proves vital for the Ukrainian leader, who said he is “convinced that the president of the United States has all the powers and enough leverage to unite European leaders,” whom he said are “all looking at President Trump as a leader for the free world, a free democratic world and they are waiting for him, so he has to do it. He must.”

Zelensky also addressed the potential end of U.S. military aid, saying once again, as he has so often in the past year, that “without it, there is a greater chance Russia will win and Ukraine will suffer much more loss of life, much more.”

What People Are Saying

John Foreman, former United Kingdom defense attache to Moscow and Kyiv, previously told Newsweek: “[Trump’s] statement that the U.S. is backing away from being a mediator shows his instinct for self-preservation having failed to deliver peace as he promised. We shouldn’t be surprised. Trump has consistently used carrots rather than sticks. It is clear he values a relationship with Russia, and an odd friendship with Putin, over Ukraine.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told U.S. lawmakers last month: “What the president is trying to do is end…a bloody, costly war that neither side can win,” adding Putin “hasn’t gotten a single concession, he hasn’t got a single sanction lifted.”

What Happens Next

As Russia and Ukraine continue to attack each other, the prospect of successful peace talks remain distant.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan sanctions bill is already awaiting approval in the U.S. Congress, which lawmakers hope could add pressure to Putin.