WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied wrongdoing Friday night in his first public remarks since a major Oval Office argument with President Trump that cast the future of his country’s conflict with Russia into doubt.
“I’m not sure that we did something bad,” Zelensky told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier when asked if he owed Trump an apology for clashing with him and Vice President JD Vance — before saying moments later that “of course” the relationship between the men can be mended.
“I respect the president and I respect the American people,” the 47-year-old leader said in the interview, without admitting fault.
But Zelensky proceeded to dig himself a deeper hole, telling the “Special Report” host that “I don’t know” if the argument was a pre-planned ambush by Trump and Vance, as some Democrats and pro-Ukraine commentators claimed.
A US official told The Post earlier Friday that the argument was entirely unexpected at the meeting, which was supposed to culminate in the signing of a framework deal that would grant the US a stake in Ukrainian rare earth elements.
Zelensky again insisted in the Fox News interview that the US provide new “security guarantees” to Ukraine and promised that “when we will be ready with this, we will come to diplomacy” — though Trump has repeatedly made clear he already believes the issue of security is addressed by the US stake in rare earth mining.
That deal was left unsigned when a furious Trump booted his counterpart from the West Wing after the Oval Office shouting match.
Zelensky also offered some conciliatory remarks to meet the US demand that he be more open to peace talks and a possible cease-fire.
“We want peace, that’s why I’m in the United States,” he told Baier.
“But I respect my soldiers and our people, our civilians, who work and support our warriors. I can’t say just stop,” he added.
“No, they will [not] stop, because everybody afraid that Putin will come back tomorrow. We want just a lasting peace. It’s true. We want security guarantees. We raise this topic about NATO the quickest way, but not all the countries are on this side. I said, ‘OK, if not NATO, nobody is pushing. If not NATO, let’s build NATO in Ukraine.’”
The US president wrote on social media shortly after the Oval Office meeting that Zelensky “disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
Zelensky outraged Trump and Vance by expressing, in their view, insufficient gratitude for massive US wartime aid to Kyiv — with an initially cordial meeting careening toward disaster after 45 minutes of largely warm opening remarks and Q&A with watching reporters.
The Ukrainian leader kicked off the acrimony by seeming to condescend Vance’s condemnation of the Biden administration and promotion of “diplomacy,” — with Zelensky, who had not been addressed by the VP, choosing to give him a history lecture and prodding, “What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are [sic] speaking about?”
Vance responded that it was “disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media” — with Trump jumping in to defend his No. 2, telling Zelensky that he had “to be thankful” and was “gambling with World War III.”
“You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out, and if we’re out, you’ll fight it out,” Trump fumed. “I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.”
