WASHINGTON: The meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy took an unexpected turn in front of the television cameras on Friday.
Here are the highlights, word-for-word, from when Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance started verbal sparring in the Oval Office.
Zelensky: What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you are asking about? What do you mean?
Vance: I´m talking about the kind of diplomacy that´s going to end the destruction of your country.
Zelensky: Yes, but if you…
Vance: Mr. President, with respect, I think it´s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media. Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the frontlines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president.
Zelensky: Have you ever been to Ukraine to see the problems we have?
Vance: I´ve actually watched and seen the stories, and I know what happens is you bring people on a propaganda tour, Mr. President.
Do you disagree that you´ve had problems with bringing people in your military, and do you think that it´s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?
Zelensky: First of all, during the war, everybody has problems, even you. You have nice solutions and don´t feel (it) now, but you will feel it in the future.
Trump: You don´t know that. Don´t tell us what we´re going to feel. We´re trying to solve a problem. Don´t tell us what we´re going to feel.
Zelensky: I am not telling you, I am answering…
Vance: That´s exactly what you´re doing…
Trump, raising his voice: You´re in no position to dictate what we´re going to feel. We´re going to feel very good and very strong.
Zelensky tries to interrupt.
Trump: You right now are not in a very good position. You´ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position.
You don´t have the cards right now. With us, you start having the cards.
You´re gambling with lives of millions of people, you´re gambling with World War III and what you´re doing is very disrespectful to this country.
Vance: Have you said thank you once?
Zelensky: A lot of times.
Vance: No, in this meeting, this entire meeting? Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who´s trying to save your country.
Zelensky: Yes, you think that if you will speak very loudly about the war…
Trump: He´s not speaking loud. Your country is in big trouble. No, no, you´ve done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble.
Zelensky: I know, I know.
Trump: You´re not winning this. You have a damn good chance of coming out OK, because of us.
Zelensky: We are staying strong from the very beginning of the war, we have been alone, and we are saying, I said, thanks.
Trump, speaking over Zelensky: You haven´t been alone…. We gave you military equipment. Your men are brave, but they had our military. If you didn´t have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks.
Zelensky: I heard it from Putin in three days.
Trump: It´s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this.
Vance: Just say thank you.
Zelensky: I said it a lot of times.
Vance: Accept that there are disagreements and let´s go litigate those disagreements rather than trying to fight it in the American media, when you´re wrong. We know that you´re wrong.
Trump: You´re buried there. Your people are dying. You´re running low on soldiers. No, listen… And then you tell us, ´I don´t want a cease fire. I don´t want a cease fire. I want to go and I want this.´
Trump: You´re not acting at all thankful. And that´s not a nice thing. I´ll be honest, that´s not a nice thing. All right, I think we´ve seen enough. What do you think? Great television. I will say that.
