Watch: In tense meeting, Trump accuses Ukraine’s Zelenskyy of ‘gambling with World War III’

United States President Donald Trump on Friday accused his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy of “gambling with World War III” during a public confrontation at the White House.

Trump told Zelenskyy to come back for talks “when he is ready for peace”.

The tense meeting led to the collapse of a controversial minerals deal between the two nations and has created uncertainty about American military support for Ukraine amid the war with Russia.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, which triggered the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

The minerals deal was viewed by Trump as the first step towards a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Trump’s representatives and their Russian counterparts met in February for talks mediated by Saudi Arabia on ending the Ukraine conflict. Ukraine was left out of the talks.

The verbal confrontation between Trump and Zelenskyy on Friday followed an interjection by Vice President JD Vance. Vance has been sceptical about additional American support for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy responded by suggesting that Vance should visit Ukraine to see the destruction the conflict had caused and that Moscow, not Kyiv, was responsible for the prolonged fighting.

In response, Vance accused the...

Read more