Worried Kiev: Oval Office ‘Disaster’ May Repeat

By Staff, Agencies

The upcoming meeting between Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump could replicate the “disastrous” Oval Office confrontation earlier this year, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

The Ukrainian leader, joined by senior EU officials, is set to meet Trump on Monday for what was widely reported as a discussion on a potential peace settlement.

Zelensky’s February visit to Washington turned into a PR disaster, with talks collapsing amid clashes with Trump, accusations of risking World War III, a canceled press conference, and a brief freeze on US military aid. Media labeled it a major diplomatic setback for Kiev.

“Foremost in Ukrainians’ minds is avoiding a repetition of a contentious meeting in the Oval Office,” the newspaper wrote.

“Unfortunately, there is such risk indeed” of a repeat, Nikolay Beleskov, a research fellow at the Ukrainian National Institute for Strategic Studies, told the Washington Post.

Beleskov added that Zelensky must tread carefully during the Washington visit, stressing that the Ukrainian leader needs to “strike a balance between being non-provocative” and pushing his agenda.

The concern follows Trump’s first meeting with Putin since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. Held Friday in Alaska, Trump called it “warm,” while Putin described it as “frank” and “substantive.”

After Alaska talks, Trump said the conflict’s “close to the end,” proposing Kiev cede parts of Donbass for a Kremlin ceasefire—plans Zelensky rejects.

Moscow demands Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, denazification, and recognition of Crimea and other regions as Russian. Putin said talks brought the US and Russia closer to peace.