Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he does not owe U.S. President Donald Trump an apology, hours after their verbal clash in the White House before the cameras.
اضافة اعلان
In an interview with Fox News broadcast on Friday evening, Zelensky stated: "I respect President Trump and the American people," emphasizing his country's desire not to lose its great partners in the United States, as "it’s hard for Ukraine to stand up to Russia without American support, but not at the cost of our values and freedom."
When the program host asked Zelensky if he was willing to apologize to Trump, the Ukrainian president responded, "I think we should be very open and honest, and I don’t think we did anything wrong."
Zelensky, whose country has been invaded by Russia for three years, stressed that "no one wants to end the war more than we do."
Later, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on the Ukrainian president to apologize.
Rubio told CNN that the Ukrainian president "should apologize for wasting our time with a meeting that ended this way."
Zelensky, however, stated that Ukraine's relationship with the United States could "of course" be salvaged, saying: "Of course, relations between the two countries can be repaired because these are relations that go beyond the two presidents; they are strong and historical ties between our peoples." He added that he does not want to lose the United States as a partner and stressed that he wants Trump to be "more on our side" in negotiations to end the conflict. -(Agencies)
