E-Paper
Zelensky responds after anchor asks if he’ll apologise to Trump over contentious public clash
Zelensky stated that he did not believe an apology was necessary and suggested that certain discussions would have been better held in private.
Following a heated exchange with U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, Zelensky appeared on Fox News, where host Bret Baier opened Friday’s edition of Special Report by twice pressing the Ukrainian president on whether he would apologize to Trump after the diplomatic fallout.
Zelensky asked if he would apologise to Trump
Ukraine’s attempt to broker a peace deal with Russia, with U.S. mediation, did not unfold as planned. On Friday afternoon, President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance confronted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a tense Oval Office meeting. Both leaders spoke over Zelensky, with Trump accusing him of pushing the world toward a third world war.
The meeting ended without Zelensky signing a highly anticipated rare earth mineral deal. Later, Trump criticised Zelensky for being "disrespectful" and stated that he would be welcome back only when he was ready to pursue "peace."
Later, Zelensky appeared in a Fox News interview where Baier directly addressed the public clash and asked, “President Trump said after your meeting that you disrespected him and the vice president and all of America in the Oval Office." He continued, “Do you think you did, and do you think you owe an apology to President Trump?
Zelensky responds
Zelensky sidestepped the apology question, instead expressing gratitude for U.S. bipartisan support and American public backing. He acknowledged Trump's desire to end the war but emphasised that no one wants peace more than Ukraine, as they are the ones directly affected by the conflict. “We have to be very direct to understand each other because it’s very for us, very necessary to President Trump and I’m, with all respect, that he wants to finish this war but not – nobody wants to finish more than we because we, in Ukraine, we are in this war,” he said in the interview (according to Mediaite)
Baier then pressed him again, “So, I’m not hearing from you, Mr. President, a thought that you owe the president an apology.”
Zelensky stated that he did not believe an apology was necessary and suggested that certain discussions would have been better held in private.
“No,” he responded. “I respect president. And I respect American people. And if – I don’t know if – I think that we have to be very open and very honest. And I’m not sure that we did something bad. I think maybe sometimes some things we have to discuss out of – out of media.”
