Featured Image Credit: Mert Gokhankoc/ dia images via Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, World News
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, World News
President Zelenskyy has reflected on his chaotic discussions with Donald Trump last week, and shared what his intention of the meeting was.
Aside from last night's Oscars, Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump is still being widely talked about across the news.
The two heads of state met in Washington on Friday (February 28), and their discussions quickly descended into chaos.
From Zelenskyy being critiqued for his choice of attire to Trump accusing him of 'gambling with World War 3', it's safe to say the meeting could have gone more smoothly.
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Ultimately, Zelenskyy ended up leaving the meeting early and the White House was forced to cancel a scheduled press conference.
But the Ukrainian president has since been urged to make amends with Trump by Mark Rutte, NATO secretary general.
After his short time in the US, Zelenskyy jetted to the UK and met with Keir Starmer, as well as King Charles.
His meeting with Starmer went swimmingly, with the British prime minister insisting that Ukraine had the country's 'full backing'.
But, ahead of leaving London yesterday (March 2), Zelenskyy was asked further about his meeting with Trump.
Speaking to reporters at Stansted Airport, he reflected on his meeting with Trump and insisted that he 'just want[s] the Ukrainian position to be heard'.
"We want our partners to remember who the aggressor is in this war," Zelenskyy went on, as per Mail Online.
"We need peace, not endless war," he added.
"In the near future, all of us in Europe will shape our common positions — the lines we must achieve and the lines we cannot compromise on.
"These positions will be presented to our partners in the United States."
Like Rutte, Britain’s ambassador to the US, Lord Mandelson, has also encouraged Zelenskyy to make peace with Trump.
"After what happened on Friday, it’s clear that we need to bring the United States and Ukraine together again," he said, The Telegraph reports.
"I think the first thing that President Zelenskyy can do is to make clear his commitment to the initiative that President Trump is taking."
Mandelson went on: "I do think it would be a good idea if he signed an economic and commercial deal put forward by the United States.
"The reason I say that quite apart from the economic gain that Ukraine will derive from that, it will also give the United States a stake in Ukraine’s future: it will mean that US commercial interests, US individual citizens will be on the ground there, and that will be an even greater added incentive for the US to protect Ukraine in future and make sure that war does not ensue again.
"That’s what I want to see, that’s what we all want to see."
The deal Mandelson's referring to is the idea that the two countries jointly invest in Ukraine’s critical minerals and other valuable resources.