Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's meeting with Donald Trump ended in disaster on Friday (February 28), after the two leaders engaged in an extraordinary shouting match before the world's media at the White House over the war with Russia, Reuters reports.
Zelenskiy had coveted the meeting in the White House to help his country convince the United States not to side with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
Instead U.S. President Trump and Vice President JD Vance attacked the Ukrainian leader, saying he showed disrespect, underlining how the change of administration in Washington has undermined Kyiv's attempts to maintain Western support for its war effort.
In an interview with Reuters on Friday (February 28), John Townsend, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Europe and NATO, said the clash showed “how bad the American leadership looked to the world and how ashamed we should be that our leaders act that way.”
Townsend, however, believes this relationship between the United States and Ukraine is reparable.
“The path forward is to sign this thing,” Townsend said, referring to the minerals deal. “This in and of itself will not stop the process.”
The Washington talks were previously seen as a diplomatic boost for Zelenskiy, who has repeatedly spoken of the importance of meeting Trump in person before the U.S. president holds talks with Putin.
