On Feb. 28, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy justified remarks made during a contentious White House meeting.
In an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, Zelenskyy repeated his position on a cease-fire deal, implying that he was open to peace but insisted on long-term peace through security assurances from the US.
“We are ready for peace, but we have to be in a strong position,” he said.
His remarks followed a violent dispute that broke out during his visit to the White House to meet with President Donald Trump. During the discussion, Trump and Vice President JD Vance voiced worry over Zelenskyy's public demand for security assurances as part of a prospective mining agreement.
The exchange put the minerals deal between the United States and Ukraine on pause, and the Ukrainian leader was ordered to leave the White House.
Trump told reporters that Zelenskyy wanted to return to sign the agreement and that the Ukrainian president was not yet ready for a peace pact.
“Well, he says he wants it now. He wants to come back right now, but I can’t do that,” Trump said as he was departing the White House.
Zelenskyy thanked Trump for the invitation, stating that the minerals deal was the first step to security guarantees. He told Fox News it was meant to bring both sides closer to peace.
“That’s why I’m here,” he said.
Zelenskyy also stated that without U.S. support, it would be extremely difficult for Ukraine to continue its fight against Russia. He acknowledged that the United States and other countries would not offer NATO membership to Ukraine.
“If not NATO, let’s build NATO in Ukraine. That’s my position,” he said.
“When we say no NATO, what security guarantees can we have? I’m not pushing. We’re not pressuring. We’re just asking.”
Zelenskyy went on to say that Europeans had already agreed to send troops to Ukraine to provide security. He also mentioned that the US would consider providing assistance, possibly as a backup, "just to guarantee that they are with Europeans."
The discussion became heated as Zelenskyy was accused of disrespecting Trump and neglecting to express thanks for his efforts to stop the war in Ukraine.
During the Oval Office discussion, Zelenskyy stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had violated cease-fires 25 times.
In response to the Ukrainian leader's repeated plea for security guarantees, Vance told Zelenskyy, "It's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media."
After the bilateral meeting, both parties were supposed to meet for lunch, but the Ukrainian delegation was ordered to leave, according to a White House official. The meal, which was intended for Zelenskyy and his colleagues, was handed to White House workers.
The word was relayed to Zelenskyy by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who informed him that Trump and Vance no longer wanted to continue the meeting.
During the Fox interview, Zelenskyy said he had no reason to apologize to Trump after their heated exchange.
“No, I respect the president and I respect American people,” Zelenskyy said in response to a question on whether he should apologize.
“I think that we have to be very open and very honest, and I’m not sure that we did something bad,” he added.
At the start of the interview, Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to Trump and Congress for their bipartisan support, saying he has always been very thankful.
“I think that we have to be on the same side, and I hope that the president is on our side together with us, and that is very important to stop Putin,” Zelenskyy said while defending his remarks at the Oval Office.
When Baier asked if he regretted the conversation in front of the media, Zelenskyy said, “Yes, I think it was not good. I think it was not good because we had a lot of different dialogs.”
Baier asked Zelenskyy about a comment from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who on X accused Trump of being beholden to Putin.
“Do you agree that President Trump is too close to Vladimir Putin in your mind?” Baier asked.
Zelenskyy said Trump had told him that he sought to be “in the middle” of the two warring countries to ensure all parties participate in negotiations.
“I want really him to be more at our side,” Zelenskyy said. “It’s not just that the war began somewhere between our countries. The war began when Russia brought this war to our country.”
During the Oval Office meeting, Trump rejected criticism of being too aligned with Putin.
“You want me to say really terrible things about Putin and then say, ‘Hi, Vladimir! How are we doing on the deal?’ It doesn’t work that way,” Trump said. “I’m not aligned with anybody. I’m aligned with the United States of America and for the good of the world.”
During the Fox interview, Zelenskyy also expressed concerns about how Ukraine has handled the weaponry and funds it has received from the United States.
Baier questioned the Ukrainian leader if there would "be a very rigorous accounting of where the money has gone," citing worries about potential corruption and equipment sales in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy informed Baier that the fears were unfounded.
“It came through the border. It’s checked and it’s fixed by everybody,” he said of weapons shipments to Ukraine. He then offered a similar reassurance regarding direct financial support from the United States to Ukraine.
“It’s very open. It’s digitalized,” he said. “If somebody wants to check it again, we are very, very open with this.”
Since the start of the war three years ago, U.S. Congress has passed several bills to provide a total of $174 billion to Ukraine, according to the Congressional Research Service.
