US Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff claimed that Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy apologised for the Oval office’s blowup.
The sudden blowup at the Oval Office was followed by the most heated public exchange of words between world leaders -Zelenskyy and Trump. “You either make a deal or we are out,” Trump told Zelenskyy, underscoring the American leader’s plans to dictate a swift end to the war or leave its longtime ally to continue the fight without its strongest backer.
In an interview with Fox News, Witoff claimed, “Zelenskyy sent a letter to the President. He apologized for that whole incident that happened in the Oval Office. I think that was a, an important step. And there’s been a lot of discussion between our teams and the Ukrainians and the Europeans who are relevant to this discussion as well. And I would like to describe it as progress.”
Earlier, Trump in a joint address to Congress, shared that he had received a letter from Zelenskyy in an effort for the countries to smooth out ties. Trump had said he appreciated the letter, which came just days after the US halted military assistance to Ukraine.
What happened at Oval Office?
Ukraine, which depends heavily on foreign help to hold back Russia’s full-scale invasion that began on Feb. 24, 2022, went to US after both agreed for a minerals deals but it got revoked after the heated exchange between the two leaders.
The strained relationship reached a breaking point last week when Trump and Vice President JD Vance confronted Zelenskyy over his lack of gratitude for US support.
Trump and Vance confronted Zelenskyy, accusing him of being ungrateful and disrespectful while he pressed for US security guarantees as part of any potential truce.
Vance then joined the conversation, criticizing Zelenskyy for not showing enough appreciation. “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,” Vance said. He added that Ukraine was struggling with manpower issues, forcing conscripts to the front lines, and that Zelenskyy should be thanking Trump for working toward a peace deal.
Zelenskyy did not back down. “What kind of diplomacy, JD?” he asked, pointing out past diplomatic efforts that had failed to stop Moscow’s aggression.This response appeared to anger both Trump and Vance. The two continued to criticize Zelenskyy, with Trump reiterating that Ukraine was in “big trouble” and suggesting that without US support, Kyiv had no leverage.
The confrontation resulted in Zelenskyy being asked to leave, with the deal granting the US preferential access to Ukraine’s mineral resources left unsigned.
Following the contentious meeting, Zelenskyy acknowledged the disagreement as “regrettable” and expressed willingness to cooperate with the US, including agreement on the minerals arrangement.
US and Ukrainian representatives are scheduled to convene in Saudi Arabia this week to resume peace discussions aimed at ending the Russian conflict.
