European countries’ nightmares played out Friday as the meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky devolved into an extraordinary argument that resulted in him leaving before finalizing the deal he traveled to Washington to sign.
Zelensky had traveled to Washington on Friday to sign a long-term economic agreement that would in effect see the United States boost Ukraine’s natural resources infrastructure in exchange for a portion of the subsequent proceeds. It was supposed to act as a mechanism for Ukraine to reimburse the U.S. for the tens of billions of dollars of military aid it provided to Kyiv.
Their conversation in the Oval Office deteriorated on camera however, after Vice President JD Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of not expressing enough gratitude for U.S. support. That in turn led to Zelensky and Trump clashing for several minutes. Zelensky left without signing the agreement, raising questions of what the U.S. policy will be toward Ukraine and the war, at large, given the administration has held two meetings with their Russian counterparts about thawing relations and ending the conflict.
Several European leaders shared statements of support for Ukraine in the aftermath of the Oval Office meeting.
“Sweden stands with Ukraine,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said. “You are not only fighting for your freedom but also for all of Europe’s. Slava Ukraini!”
“Ukraine is a victim of the Russian aggression,” President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs said. “It fights the war with the help from many friends and partners. We need to spare no effort for just and lasting peace. Diplomacy sometimes is the art of the impossible in difficult circumstances.”
The minerals deal was supposed to act as a long-term partnership for the U.S. and Ukraine, though it’s unclear if the offer is off the table indefinitely.
“This is thuggery from Trump and Vance, plain and simple,” Ed Davey, Britain’s leader of the Liberal Democrat party, said. “They are bullying the brave true patriot Zelensky into accepting a deal which effectively hands victory to Russia. Unless the UK and Europe step up, we are facing a betrayal of Ukraine.”
On the other hand, Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister and a Trump ally, praised the president in the aftermath of the Oval Office affair.
“Strong men make peace, weak men make war,” he wrote on X. “Today President Trump stood bravely for peace. Even if it was difficult for many to digest. Thank you, Mr. President!”
Both French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer traveled to Washington this week to meet with Trump, with the two leaders there to lobby the president to continue his support for Ukraine. They sought to convince the U.S. to be a “backstop” to a British and European-led peacekeeping force should Ukraine and Russia agree to a peace deal but did not get any U.S. commitments.
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In response to the Oval Office blowup, Macron told reporters in Portugal, “There is an aggressor, which is Russia, and an attacked people, which is Ukraine.”
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former NATO secretary-general, said, “The world’s democracies must stand with [Zelensky] and the brave people of Ukraine. But we must do more than talk. We must act. Ukraine needs European security guarantees — now.”
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Russian officials, on the other hand, rejoiced in the episode.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, “How Trump and Vance held back from hitting that scumbag is a miracle of restraint,” while former President Dmitry Medvedev, who is currently the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, called Zelensky an “insolent pig” who had received “a proper slap down in the Oval Office.”