In the chaotic aftermath of an explosive Oval Office press conference Friday with President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his frustration with the administration began after it issued a series of controversial comments in the five weeks after Trump’s inauguration.
“It’s not about [being] mad,” Zelenskyy told Fox News’ Chief Political Anchor Bret Baier on “Special Report.”
“[When you hear] president, vice president or somebody or senators — doesn’t matter, big politicians — when they, for example, say that Ukraine is almost destroyed, that our soldiers run away, that they are not a heroes, that Ukraine lost millions of civilians, that his president is dictator.
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“The reaction is that, where is our friendship between Ukraine and United States?”
Zelenskyy said it was important that Ukraine, the U.S. and Europe maintain their great partnership in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression.
But when asked if he feels he should apologize for the heated discussions that erupted in the Oval Office, which began after Vance accused Zelenskyy of being “disrespectful,” the Ukrainian leader said “no.”
“I respect the president, and I respect the American people,” he said. “I’m not sure that we did something bad.”
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Zelenskyy argued that important issues need to be discussed thoroughly and warned Trump, “Don’t trust Putin.”
Zelenskyy noted again that security guarantees, which caused the blowup in the Oval Office Friday, are not an issue he can disregard because the threat of another Russian invasion is too great.
Zelenskyy also reiterated he would be willing to step down as president so long as Ukraine was given NATO membership.
“We want just and lasting peace. It’s true. We want security guarantees,” he said. “If [the] United States will support NATO … I think that is enough for Ukraine.”
Trump, after speaking with Putin earlier this month, began pushing the idea that Ukraine should hold elections, claiming Zelenskyy has little support among the Ukrainian public.
But under Ukraine’s constitution, it cannot hold elections during a time of war.
