Last Friday’s meeting between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart President Volodymyr Zelenskyy created complications in yet-to-be started peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and even reportedly prompted Trump to have the Ukrainian president leave the White House ahead of schedule.
In a series of social media posts on Saturday morning, Zelenskyy reiterated that while Ukraine is willing to sign a critical minerals deal, they want security guarantees included. “A ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine. We’ve been fighting for 3 years, and Ukrainian people need to know that America is on our side,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
After a failed trip to Washington, D.C., Zelenskyy then went to Europe to shore up support for Kyiv.
“I think our relationship (with the U.S.) will continue, because it’s more than an occasional relationship,” Zelenskyy said late Sunday, as The Associated Press reported.
Trump didn’t take to these words kindly. “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing and Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S.”
In conversation with Fox News' Sean Hannity, published Monday, Vice President JD Vance broke down what it would take to reach a peace deal and reveal what happened behind the scenes during the heated meeting, which he attended.
Here are five highlights from the interview.
What would it take to negotiate a peace deal?
The U.S. is offering Kyiv a different kind of security, Vance told Hannity.
“If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine,” the vice president said.
He said the Trump White House’s doors are always open, but Zelenskyy should be willing to seriously consider peace talks before coming back to the Oval Office.
“Look, this is not going to make anybody happy. The Russians are going to have to give up stuff. The Ukrainians are going to have to give up stuff,” Vance said.
“You can’t come to the Oval Office and say, ‘Give us security guarantees. We won’t even engage with you about what we’re willing to give up,‘” Vance claimed.
“When they’re willing to talk peace, I think President Trump will be the first person to pick up the phone,” he added.
Vance says Zelenskyy initiated the heated argument with Trump
The vice president said he’s noticed Trump likes to do press conferences with foreign leaders. And during the conversation with Zelenskyy, he “bent over backwards to be gracious and kind” toward the Ukrainian president, Vance added.
The meeting “went off the rails” after the U.S. president and vice president answered a question about the Trump-Vance White House’s open channels of communication with Russia.
Vance championed the idea of diplomacy, prompting Zelenskyy to push back by detailing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decades-long history of occupation in Ukraine and a failure to keep his word on prison exchanges and ceasefires. Then he pointedly asked Vance what type of diplomacy he referred to, starting the back and forth.
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about? What do you mean?” Zelenskyy asked.
“I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country,” Vance responded. “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media. … You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict."
Vance told Hannity he attempted to defuse the situation by suggesting the conversation continue in private, only to be shot down by Trump, who wanted the American people to know the state of the negotiations.
“I do think that there was just a certain sense of there was a lack of respect ... a certain sense of entitlement,” the vice president said. He reaffirmed Trump’s goal is to end the war.
“I really don’t care what President Zelenskyy says about me or anybody else, but he showed a clear unwillingness to engage in the peace process,” he added.
Did Zelenskyy try to come back to the White House after the contentious meeting?
Referring to the reports that say Zelenskyy called “a number of times” to come back to the White House, Hannity asked Vance whether the Ukrainian president attempted to come back to the White House and if the request came through multiple phone calls.
“I don’t know about numerous calls but they certainly made at least one request to come back and continue the conversation,” Vance revealed. The U.S. president thought Zelenskyy was disrespectful and there wouldn’t be anything to talk about since he showed “a clear unwillingness to discuss the peaceful settlement,” the vice president said.
Vance on Europe supporting Europe
Vance said Zelenskyy went to Europe, where “a lot of our European friends puff him up,” calling him a “freedom fighter” and saying he “needs to keep fighting forever.”
“Well, fighting forever with what? With whose money? With whose ammunition? With whose lives?” said the vice president. But Trump’s perspective is “more realistic,” Vance said, adding, “This can’t go on forever. We can’t fund this thing forever.”
Toward the end of the conversation, Vance noted that the Ukrainians lost support from Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who, despite being a staunch advocate for Kyiv, called for a change in Ukrainian leadership for the benefit of the country.
But, Vance said, the crazier fact is European state heads show bold support for Ukraine in public, but in private, they want the war to end. “I honestly don’t care what the Europeans say in public. What I care is what they say in private,” he said.
Can Putin be trusted with a ceasefire deal?
The Fox News host saw the peace negotiations as unfolding in three ways. He perceived the critical minerals deal as “ceremonial,” that would pave the path for the second part: a ceasefire. But, Hannity said, part three, the negotiation settlement with Putin, “would be the hardest.”
Vance argued that Putin is willing to negotiate, before adding, “we trust but verify.” The vice president affirmed Hannity’s perception about the purpose of Zelenskyy‘s visit last week. The deal aimed to assure Ukrainians about continued American support. It also was meant to recoup some of the money the U.S. spent on aid to Ukraine, Vance said. He added that peace negotiations will follow after the deal is signed.
As the Deseret News previously reported, Trump wants access to Ukraine’s large swath of critical mineral resources in exchange for brokering a peace agreement and helping Kyiv to rebuild. Zelenskyy is willing to compromise but wants “security guarantees” from the U.S. — a promise the Trump-Vance administration seemed unwilling to make.
“As (Secretary of State Marco Rubio) has said, nobody’s suggesting that we give the Nobel Peace Prize to Vladimir Putin,” he said. “It’s important for President Trump to be able to have a conversation that’s not well served by standing up at a press conference and calling the guy every negative name in the book.”