Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is welcome back at the White House “any time” — if he demonstrates that he’s “ready to truly engage for peace,” National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said Sunday.
Waltz, 51, appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” to rebuke Zelensky, 47, for unloading on Russia’s history of aggression during the now-infamous shouting match that erupted between President Trump and the Ukrainian leader in front of the cameras in the Oval Office on Friday.
“What was so, I think, stunning to all of us in the Oval Office was that it was not clear Zelensky was going to go to negotiations at all, that he would ever be able to negotiate with Putin,” Waltz said.
“What we made clear was that [negotiations] could not proceed, at least for now,” Waltz said. “When President Zelensky is ready to truly engage for peace, he’s welcome back any time.”
Waltz was in the Oval Office on Friday when Zelensky, Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly feuded over the war in Ukraine.
Roughly 40 minutes into their exchange, Vance prodded Zelensky to engage in diplomacy to end the war.
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about?” Zelensky shot back after rehashing how Kremlin tyrant Vladimir Putin has previously violated agreements with Ukraine.
Vance, 40, later called Zelensky “disrespectful,” and the Ukrainian leader was booted from the White House. Zelensky had been expected to sign a mineral-rights agreement during the visit to help pay the US for its military aid to Ukraine, but ultimately, that never came to pass.
After the flareup of tensions, Zelensky repeatedly declined opportunities to issue an apology during a subsequent interview on Fox News’ “Special Report” with Bret Baier.
Waltz, on Sunday, ducked a question about whether Zelensky needs to apologize to Trump in order to ease tensions with the White House.
A chorus of critics, including many Democrats, accused Trump and Vance of ambushing Zelensky during the Oval Office spat.
“I want to address directly that this was some type of ambush,” Waltz said. “It is absolutely false. We had negotiated the minerals deal in the weeks prior. It was difficult, but it was done and finalized and ready to be signed in the East Room.”
Zelensky has called for security guarantees with the signing of the deal, ahead of more detailed negotiations with the Russians.
Waltz stressed that it wasn’t clear to the Trump administration that “Zelensky was ready to negotiate in good faith towards an end to this war.”
“You can’t kind of trash the other side going, litigating, through the history of this conflict if we’re going to bring both sides to the table,” Waltz said. “Coming to the Oval Office, with the body language, the shaking of head … we found it incredibly disrespectful.”
Trump, 78, has sought to move in the direction of positioning himself as a neutral intermediary of sorts between the two warring countries, alarming both Ukraine and many European countries.
Throughout most of the bloody war, which marked its three-year anniversary last month, the US had been steadfastly on Ukraine’s side, given that Russia invaded the country.
The Trump administration and Russia have discussed efforts to normalize relations between the US and Kremlin amid the push to end the conflict.
“This war needs to end, and that’s going to take concessions on territory. That’s going to take Russian concessions on security guarantees. That’s going to take all sides coming to the table,” Waltz said without elaborating further on the specific concessions he’d like to see from Russia, which has taken over parts of Ukraine during the struggle.
