A televised shouting match broke out between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday, abruptly halting peace talks between the two leaders, The Telegraph reports.
In a hostile press conference, the US president told Mr Zelensky to sign a ceasefire or “we’re out” as their summit descended into a furious dressing down of the Ukrainian president.
After the meeting was cut short and a press conference cancelled, Mr Trump ordered Mr Zelensky to leave. He later wrote online: “Come back when you’re ready for peace.”
The extraordinary clash left the prospects of a peace deal hanging by a thread and raised major questions about the future of European security.
The White House summit, which came a day after Sir Keir Starmer had held warm talks with Mr Trump, was meant to host the signing of a mineral wealth deal between the US and Ukraine.
The wartime leader said that Vladimir Putin had repeatedly broken ceasefire agreements signed in 2014 and, in a possible reference to further Russian aggression, warned America that its troops would be at risk without a strong security guarantee.
