Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte following a tense meeting with US President Donald Trump on Friday.
The Élysée Palace confirmed that Macron and Zelensky had a conversation but did not share details. Zelensky was also in contact with Rutte, according to The Financial Times.
Donald Trump cut short the meeting with Zelensky and said the Ukrainian leader is “not ready” for peace with Russia in an extraordinary meltdown in the Oval Office that threw question marks over chances for a truce.
Zelensky was originally scheduled for a formal White House visit on Feb. 28 to finalize a US-Ukrainian agreement on jointly utilizing Ukraine’s mineral resources, a key component of a US-mediated post-war recovery plan.
However, the visit quickly turned confrontational in the Oval Office, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance angrily confronted Zelensky, accusing him of lacking gratitude for US support since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago.