Oval Office showdown: Did Trump set a bait for Zelenskyy? NATO chief asks Ukrainian leader to befriend US prez again

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy apparently fell into Donald Trump's trap on Friday after he got into an argument with his US counterpart at the Oval Office in the presence of the media. It has now been revealed that South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham had warned Zelenskyy against “taking the bait”.

“I said, don’t get into arguments about security agreements,” Graham told The New York Times, recalling his advice to Zelenskyy about how he should behave

Was Oval Office showdown a trap for Zelenskyy?

There were speculations that Zelenskyy fell for Trump's bait. However, Senator Graham told NYT that Trump was excited about the potential mineral deal that would benefit the US and did not intend to blow it up.

However, Trump and Vice President JD Vance do not like Zelenskyy whom they think sides with the US because of the money and weapons they provide. They felt that Zelenskyy did not thank them for helping him end the conflict with Russia. He also pushed the US to protect Ukraine from Russia in the future.

Trump's team led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio had recently met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh to discuss a potential end to the Ukrainian conflict. However, Zelenskyy had slammed the US for omitting Ukraine from the discussions.

Trump has refused to call Putin a dictator while Putin has offered the US an alternative rare earth mineral deal that could give Washington access to not only the natural resources in Russia, but also from the eastern Ukrainian territories occupied by Moscow.

Sources quoted by NYT admitted that the discussions were cordial during the bilateral meeting. However, when the reporters entered the Oval Office and started asking questions, the rift between the two sides surfaced. Trump was apparently miffed by questions about US security assurances for Ukraine.

There was a point when Zelenskyy told Trump and Vance about Putin repeatedly breaking ceasefire deals. However, Vance slammed Zelenskyy for disrespecting Trump.

Things worsened when Zelenskyy said the US will also face threat from Russia in the future. He said, “You have nice ocean and don’t feel now, but you will feel it in the future.” This irked Trump, who told Zelenskyy that he is not in a very good position to negotiate and he doesn't have the cards. Zelenskyy replied saying he is not playing cards, to which an angry Trump said he was “gambling with World War III.

At one point, Ukrainian ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova was seen putting her face in her hands.

In the end, a visibly irked Trump got up, saying it would make for “great television”. The Trump administration decided to cancel the bilateral events planned for the day, including a signing ceremony and a joint press conference. Zelenskyy's team was asked to leave in an apparent humiliation to the Ukrainian leader. Though the Ukrainian delegates suggested having a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, the US side turned it down.

However, Trump decided to carry on with the grand lunch without Zelenskyy and asked his top aides to fill the seats meant for the Ukrainian delegation. The me

Zelenskyy showed up for a Fox News interview later and some of the Republican leaders suggested he should apologise for the Oval Office showdown. However, the Ukrainian leader said he regretted the White House gaffe but expressed optimism in repairing the relationship with Trump. “And I’m not sure that we did something bad,” he said.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told Zelenskyy he had to "find a way to restore his relationship" with Trump, saying he should respect the US president's support for Ukraine in his first term. It is worth noting that Trump approved the supply of Javelin anti-tank missiles in 2019, which helped Ukraine thwart Russian tanks in 2022.