World leaders have vowed to stand by Ukraine after Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky locked horns in a blistering row on Friday.
Tempers flared inside the Oval Office over comments by the Ukrainian leader that ‘killer’ Putin could not be trusted.
Trump accused Zelensky of ‘gambling with World War III’ and warned him to either ‘make a deal or we’re out’.
The extraordinary confrontation has threatened to overshadow talks for a ceasefire in the Ukraine-Russia war.
Responding to the spat, French president Emmanuel Macron, who himself met Trump last week, reiterated that ‘Russia‘ was the aggressor.
‘There is an aggressor which is Russia. There is an aggressed people which is Ukraine,’ Macron told journalists during a state visit to Portugal.
‘I think we were all right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago and to continue to do so,’ he added.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also vowed to stand by Ukraine following the contentious meeting.
US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington
‘Dear @ZelenskyyUa, dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone,’ Tusk wrote on X late Friday.
Meanwhile, Penny Mordaunt said: ‘Outraged at the scenes in the oval office? We should strengthen Zelensky’s hand, to use Trump’s metaphor.
‘The UK and EU must do more to strengthen Europe’s defence. Vocal support is not enough.
‘The aid-budget-fudge is not enough. Carry on as we are, is not enough. Wake up Britain. Wake up Europe.’
