Donald Trump and JD Vance have accused Volodymyr Zelensky of being "disrespectful" and warned he is "gambling with World War 3."
The President of Ukraine, Mr Vance and Mr Trump clashed in a heated exchange in the Oval Office of the White House just minutes into a fire-side sit down in front of reporters on Friday (February 28).
Mr Zelensky told Mr Trump promises of peace from Russian President Vladimir Putin can’t be trusted, noting the Russian leader’s history of broken promises.
Mr Trump said Putin hasn’t broken agreements with him, telling the Ukrainian leader: "You’ve got to be more thankful." He said the Ukrainian leader is "gambling with World War 3".
The US leader then chided Mr Zelensky after US Vice President JD Vance, one of the administration’s most sceptical voices on Ukraine, said Ukraine's leader was being disrespectful for debating Mr Trump in the Oval Office in front of the American media.
Mr Vance asked Mr Zelensky: "Have you said ‘thank you’ once?"
The Ukrainian delegation is expected to sign an economic agreement during their visit, a deal which is seen as a step towards ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine three years after Russia's full scale invasion.
Mr Trump told Mr Zelensky Ukrainian soldiers have been unbelievably brave and talked up the deal between their two countries.
He said it was a "big" commitment from the United States, adding the US has little of the rare earth minerals which are abundant in Ukraine.
The US President said the resources will support uses in his country, including artificial intelligence and military weapons.
Mr Zelensky talked up the prospect for liquid natural gas exports to Europe, but gently disagreed when Mr Trump repeated his claim Europe "did much less" than the United States to support Ukraine against Russia.
The leader of Ukraine called Putin a killer and a terrorist and told Trump there should be "no compromises with a killer". He took printed photos to show Mr Trump, but reporters in the room couldn't see them.
In a tense and fractious meeting, Mr Trump suggested he was aligned with neither Ukraine nor Russia, telling reporters: "Well, if I didn't align myself with both of them, you'd never have a deal.
"You want me to say really terrible things about Putin and then say, 'Hi, Vladimir. How are we doing on the deal that doesn't work?' I'm not aligned with Putin. I'm not aligned with anybody.
"I'm aligned with the United States of America, and for the good of the world, I'm aligned with the world."
Mr Vance told Mr Zelensky: "Mr President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media.
"Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for bringing an end to this conflict."
As the two presidents met, the White House revealed it had mistakenly allowed a reporter from the Russian state news agency TASS into the Oval Office.
It was not on the approved media list, according to the White House, and when the press office learned the reporter was in the Oval Office, he was escorted out by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
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