Top US diplomat Rubio says Zelensky should apologise for clash with Trump
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Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, speaks during a meeting with US President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb 28.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
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WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Feb 28 for Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to apologise for an earlier clash with President Donald Trump.
Mr Zelensky should “apologise for wasting our time for a meeting that was going to end the way it did,” Mr Rubio said on CNN after Oval Office talks devolved into argument and raised voices.
Mr Rubio also questioned whether Mr Zelensky – the president of a country that has endured more than three years of war following Russia’s February 2022 invasion – wanted it to end.
“You start to perceive that maybe Zelensky doesn’t want a peace deal. He says he does, but maybe he doesn’t, and that active, open, undermining of efforts to bring about peace is deeply frustrating for everyone who’s been involved,” the top US diplomat said.
The meeting in Washington between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky was intended to smooth choppy personal relations between the two men. They were due to sign an agreement that would have shared profits from Ukraine’s critical raw material deposits with the US.
Instead, it quickly turned into a vicious spat in front of the cameras
Mr Zelensky openly challenged Mr Trump over his approach towards Russian President Vladimir Putin at the meeting, urging him to “make no compromises with a killer”.
Mr Trump accused Mr Zelensky of risking World War III and of being ungrateful to Washington for the military aid provided to Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky departed the White House following the public spat, and the planned signing ceremony and a press conference were cancelled. AFP, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
