During a recent Oval Office meeting, Vice President JD Vance recounted his attempts to ease rising tensions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, amid an ongoing discussion relating to the war in Ukraine. President Trump, who has indicated he seeks to broker peace in the conflict, entered into a heated exchange with Zelensky after the Ukrainian leader questioned the reliability of peace commitments from Russian President Putin. Vance accused Zelensky of disrespectfulness, noting the tense atmosphere and Trump's desire to confront Zelensky publicly, leading to a degradation of dialogue that could have been more diplomatic.
During the meeting, Zelensky asked Vance how the White House could be sure Putin would keep his word if he were to agree to any peace deal. Vance accused Zelensky of being disrespectful, and the scene devolved from there, with Trump piling on and telling his counterpart, 'You're gambling with World War III!' Vance insisted he was trying to ease the tension, and described the atmosphere as one with a lack of respect and entitlement from Zelensky.
Vance stated that Trump, who previously referred to Zelensky as a dictator, attempted to remain diplomatic during the meeting, even amidst tensions, highlighting Trump's attempts to maintain a civil discourse.
Vance claimed the contentious dialogue took a turn for the worse after a question from a Polish journalist, indicating that the meeting could have been handled differently if tensions had been managed.
The vice president described his original objective as one of defusing a potentially volatile situation, while noting that Trump seemed ready to confront Zelensky publicly.
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