Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made his first public comments on Fox News after his explosive Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump on Friday, thanking the president and the US for their support and responding to calls to step down over the dispute.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham – a long-time supporter of American aid to Ukraine – immediately called on Zelensky to step down after the Oval Office argument, while dozens of Democratic officials sent messages of support to the embattled president.
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When asked by conservative host Bret Baier if he would consider leaving office over the dispute, Zelensky said: “No. This decision can only be done by the people of Ukraine. Americans vote for their presidents… and only Ukrainians vote for Ukrainians.”
But he conceded that he did regret the outcome of the earlier meeting with Trump.
“I think it was not good,” Zelensky said. “I just want to be honest, I just want our partners to understand everything correctly.”
He said Ukraine would be happy to sign a deal with the US once security guarantees are included in the agreement.
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When asked if he thought he owed an apology to Trump for the argument earlier, the Ukrainian president shook his head.
“No, I respect the president, and I respect the American people,” he said. “But I am not sure we did something bad.”
He emphasized that American aid is key to Ukraine, but not at the cost of the country’s values.
“It will be difficult without your support,” Zelensky said. “But we cannot lose our values, our people. Russians came to our territories, our houses… just to forget it? Just to say Putin is a great guy? No.”
About an hour before the TV interview, Zelensky had thanked the president and the country for their support and welcome to the country.
“Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit,” Zelensky wrote on social media.
“Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people,” he wrote. “Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
This story will be updated as the story develops.
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