Days after he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” and walked back the statement, US President Donald Trump on Friday said he was involved in discussions with Ukraine and Russia because he wants to save lives and hopes to be remembered as a peacemaker.
Answering a question with Zelensky sitting next to him at the White House, Trump said, “I hope I am going to be remembered as a peacemaker. This would be a great thing if we could do this (find a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war). I am doing this to save lives, more than anything else. Second is to save a lot of money, but I consider that to be far less important.”
Underlining the importance of resolving the conflict, he continued, “I hope I will be known and recognised as a peacemaker. This will be a great thing to solve. This is a very dangerous situation. You know this could lead to a third world war. This was headed in the wrong direction. If we didn’t win this election… and we won it by a lot… this could have very well ended up in a third world war.”
Just minutes later, Trump and Zelensky had a very public argument in the White House with the US president telling his Ukrainian counterpart that he was “gambling with world war three”.
Surrounded by reporters, US Vice President JD Vance accused Zelensky of being disrespectful and “trying to litigate this in front of the American media”, and claimed that Ukraine is forcing conscripts to the frontlines because it has “manpower problems”.
Zelensky hit back, asking how Vance would know about Ukraine’s problems without visiting the country. The Ukrainian president said everybody has problems during a war and that the US will also “feel it in the future”, prompting a sharp rebuke from Trump.
“You don’t know that, don’t tell us what we are going to feel. We are trying to solve a problem. You are in no position to dictate that… You have allowed yourself to be in a very bad position. You don’t have the cards right now, with us you start having cards. You are gambling with the lives of millions of people. You are gambling with world war three. And what you are doing is very disrespectful to this country,” he said.
Zelensky responded, “We are staying in our country, staying strong from the very beginning of the war. And we are thankful (to the US).”
In a possible reference to his predecessor Joe Biden, Trump then said, “We gave you, through a stupid president, $350 billion. We gave you military equipment. If you didn’t have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks. Your country is in big trouble.”
Struggling to get a word in edgeways, Zelensky said, “You invited me here…”
‘Proudest Legacy’
Friday was not the first time Trump has said he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker. Even during his inauguration on January 20, the US President pointed to the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and said, “My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be – a peacemaker and a unifier.”
“I’m pleased to say that, as of yesterday, one day before I assumed office, the hostages in the Middle East are coming back home to their families,” he added.
Critics have, however, accused Trump of favouring Russia and trying to extract concessions from Ukraine.