Zelenskyy on FOX: ‘Spat’ during Oval Office meeting ‘not good for both sides’

WASHINGTON - In an exclusive interview with FOX News, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his thanks to the American people and was regretful for how things ended following his explosive meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

"We are thankful and sorry for this," Zelenskyy said during FOX’s Special Report with Bret Baier.

No apology

From the jump, Baier asked Zelenskyy if he felt he owed Trump an apology.

Zelenskyy skirted the question and instead proceeded to thank the American people for their support, and thanked both the president and Congress for their support.

"I was always very thankful, from all our people," Zelenskyy said. "You helped us a lot from the very beginning. You helped us to survive." 

Zelenskyy hopes for security guarantees  

Dig deeper:

Despite his fiery interaction with Trump earlier on Friday, Zelenskyy said he’s very thankful to Trump and Congress and the American people.

What they're saying:

"First of all, we want peace. That’s why I’m in the United States. That’s why I visited President Trump, and thanks for the invitation," Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy explained that signing the minerals deal would have been a step toward negotiating a guarantee of security for Ukraine from the U.S.

The Ukrainian leader said that peace talks with Russia won’t happen unless it has locked down those guarantees.

Zelenskyy also said that Trump — who insists Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to end the three-year grinding war — needs to understand that Ukraine can’t change attitudes toward Russia on a dime.

"You know, just a ceasefire without security guarantees, this is so sensitive for our people. I'm speaking like a president of a people who are in this struggle for three years, and they just want to hear that America is on our side and that America will stay with us, not with Russians, with us," he said. 

Addressing the Oval Office meeting

When asked what set off Zelenskyy during his meeting with Trump, Zeleynskyy was quick to explain that he wasn’t necessarily upset.

"It’s not about mad," Zeleynskyy said. He then went on to explain that it appeared Trump, as well as other politicians, were rattling off claims about the war in Ukraine that, according to Zelenskyy, made it seem the U.S. was not truly its ally.

"For example, saying that Ukraine is almost destroyed, that our soldiers ran away, that they are not heroes, that Ukraine lost millions of civilians, that the president is a dictator, you know, what is the reaction? It’s not about me. The reaction is, ‘Where is our friendship between Ukraine and United States?" Zelenskyy posited.

Zelenskyy also claimed that even before he met with Trump, he had had conversations both with the current administration and other leaders about being "correct" when it comes to the dialogue surrounding the war.

"I said, please, please be correct," Zelenskyy said.

Earlier on Friday, Trump and Zelenskyy spoke politely, even with admiration, of each other for the first half hour of the meeting. But, when the Ukrainian leader raised alarm about trusting any promises from Putin to end the fighting, Vice President JD Vance offered his strong rebuke for airing disagreements with Trump in public.

That instantly shifted the tenor of the conversation as Zelenskyy grew defensive and Trump and his vice president blasted him as ungrateful and issued stark warnings about future American support.

"It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this," Trump said to Zelenskyy as the two leaders talked over each other about past international support for Ukraine.

Vance then interjected, "Again, just say thank you."

Zelenskyy pushed back on Vance, telling him he's offered his appreciation "a lot of times" to the American people and the president.

What happened during the meeting? 

During what was meant to be a show of continued partnership between Ukraine and the U.S., turned into an uncomfortable spat between leaders.

Trump and Vance berated Zelenskyy during their meeting earlier on Friday, calling him "disrespectful," then abruptly called off the signing of a minerals deal with the U.S. that Trump said would have moved Ukraine closer to ending the war. 

The astonishing turn of events could scramble affairs in Europe and around the globe. During his visit with Trump, Zelenskyy was expected to sign the deal allowing the U.S. greater access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals and hold a joint news conference, but that plan was scrapped after the heated engagement between the leaders in front of the news media.

It's unclear what the blowup could mean for the deal that Trump insisted was essential to repay the U.S. for the more than $180 billion in American aid sent to Kyiv since the start of the war. And it remains to be seen what, if anything, Trump wants Zelenskyy to do to get the deal back on track.

The Ukrainian leader left the White House shortly after Trump shouted at him, showing open disdain. Untouched salad plates and other lunch items were being packed up outside the Cabinet room, where the lunch between Trump and Zelenskyy and their delegations was supposed to have taken place.

The White House said the Ukrainian delegation was told to leave.

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