Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting in Washington took an unexpected turn on Friday.
The two were due to sign an agreement giving the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, in the hopes that Kyiv would receive security guarantees against Russia in return. They were then due to hold a joint news conference.
But instead, Zelensky left the meeting not long after Trump shouted at him, and the White House said the Ukraine delegation was ordered to leave.
In a heated exchange, Trump accused the Ukrainian President of being ‘‘disrespectful’’ and of ‘’gambling with World War III’’.
Zelensky had earlier urged caution about Moscow’s commitment to diplomacy, citing its broken promises in the past.
The Ukrainian president’s main goal had been to urge Trump not to abandon his nation, amid fears that the Trump administration will cut military support to Kyiv.
The clash comes as Kyiv has so far been excluded from talks between Washington and Moscow aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Source: Africanews
