The Ukrainian president is standing firm after his Oval Office clash with Donald Trump, says the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg.

Summary

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remained upbeat after a tense diplomatic tour, including a difficult meeting with Donald Trump and JD Vance.

Warmly received in the UK, he rejected calls to apologize for the Oval Office clash and stood firm against territorial concessions to Russia.

Zelensky cautiously supported European-led peace efforts but emphasized Ukraine’s sovereignty, signaling willingness to grant the U.S. mineral rights.

Despite NATO urging him to mend ties with Trump, he maintained his stance, leaving diplomatic tensions unresolved as discussions on the war’s future continue.

  • John RichardEnglish
    39•3 days ago

    It sounds like all he wanted was formal written security guarantees in exchange for mineral rights, and it was like $500 billion in mineral rights. All Trump could do though is praise Putin & say trust us bro. Zelensky is smart enough to know the terms of such agreements needs to be in writing & not just “trust us bro.”

    • @NABDadEnglish
      13•3 days ago

      I find the suggestion that having it in writing would make any difference amusing.

      Is NATO just a handshake deal, or is there a formal written security guarantee? It doesn’t seem to really matter to the current administration.

      The more likely reason Trump wouldn’t want a written agreement is because then he’d have to pretend to be able to read it.

      • John RichardEnglish
        10•3 days ago

        It absolutely would make a difference. Those terms lay out conditions on what happens if one side breaks the agreement & can include things like freezing assets, escrow accounts, sanctions, etc.

        Now in terms of the obligations of NATO to members those still exist. But I’m unaware of any obligation by the US to stay a NATO member.

      • moxEnglish
        2•2 days ago

        It’s a lot harder to revise history that has been written down.