Washington: The impressive explosion between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House occurred after weeks of frustration by Trump and his main assistants who saw the Ukrainian leader as an obstacle as an obstacle to quickly finish the war, restore ties with Moscow and seal a potentially lucrative mineral agreement With the matter.
The president of the United States has long adopted an adverse position to Zelensky and Ukraine. But the division between the Ukrainian leader and Trump's White House has shot in recent days as conversations on a highly anticipated mineral agreement for the joint development of Ukraine natural resources were bogged down.
The extraordinary moment that developed in front of television cameras on Friday marked a possible turning point in Washington's relationship with Moscow.
In recent weeks, Trump has already overturned decades of foreign policy of the United States by publicly enduring the Russian leader, saying that “trust” in President Vladimir Putin is sincere in his desire to end the war, the belief that most Western officials, including intelligence officials, rebukes it.
The conversation in the Oval office on Friday began with the usual jokes, but began to go downhill after vice president JD Vance accused Zelensky of being ungrateful for the support of the United States. Minutes later it became an unprecedented shout match where Trump and Vance rebuked the president of the Ukrainian war.
Two White House officials said there was no attempt to ambush Zelensky and thought that Friday's visit would be a victory for Trump, and that Zelensky hoped to sign the mineral agreement.
However, the outbreak did not come out of nowhere, said three people with knowledge of the matter Reuters.
Frustration has increased within the White House in recent weeks, particularly when Trump officials tried to negotiate the mineral agreement with Ukraine, the sources said.
In recent days, exasperation among White House officials risked to derail Zelensky's visit. “I don't see why an invitation would make sense,” said a White House official. Reuters On Wednesday, when the Ukrainian president seemed to hesitate to sign the agreement.
'Total disaster'
While later a subsequent agreement was contacted for Zelensky to fly to the United States, Trump had other frustrations.
In recent weeks, the Republican president told his closest advisors that he does not like the way Zelensky has tried to increase the support of the United States to Ukraine, claiming that he used the show to try to win points with the media and Congress.
He also spoke with his national security team about the future of Zelensky's time in office, and if the United States could force the elections in Ukraine through peace negotiations, according to two sources.
Trump has already pressed openly for the elections in Ukraine and has criticized Zelensky for not retaining them after his official five -year mandate was exhausted in 2024. Russia has cited this in the past to affirm that he is an illegitimate leader.
Ukrainian legislation prohibits the celebration of elections during a martial law, which Ukraine declared the day Russia invaded in February 2022. Trump has falsely affirmed that Zelensky has an approval index of 4%. A survey this month put Zelensky approval ratings at 63%.
The Republican president has also ordered his team to limit communications as much as possible with the main assistant of Zelensky, Andriy Yermak, who had maintained a close employment relationship with the security advisor of former Democratic President Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan.
Speaking to journalists outside the White House after Friday drama, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told journalists that he warned Zelensky before the meeting to concentrate on the agreement in question and that he postponed to discuss security guarantees and a stop the fire until later.
“I talked to Zelensky this morning, don't mast the hook. President Trump was in a very good mood last night,” he said.
When describing the episode as a “total disaster,” Graham said it would be difficult for Washington to deal with Zelensky in the future.
“I don't know if we can ever do business with Zelensky again,” he said.
