FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� President and Vice President on Friday berated Ukrainian President over the war in Ukraine, accusing him of not showing gratitude after he challenged Vance on the question of diplomacy with Russia's .
The argument in the Oval Office was broadcast globally. It led to the rest of Zelenskyy's being canceled and called into question how much the U.S. will still support Ukraine in its defense against .
Here is a transcript of the key moments of the exchange.
Zelenskyy challenges Vance on Russia and diplomacy
Vance: 鈥淔or four years, the United States of America, we had a president who stood up at press conferences and talked tough about Vladimir Putin, and then Putin invaded Ukraine and destroyed a significant chunk of the country. The path to peace and the path to prosperity is, maybe, engaging in diplomacy. We tried the pathway of Joe Biden, of thumping our chest and pretending that the president of the United States鈥� words mattered more than the president of the United States鈥� actions. What makes America a good country is America engaging in diplomacy. That鈥檚 what President Trump is doing.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淐an I ask you?鈥�
Vance: 鈥淪ure. Yeah.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淥K. So he (Putin) occupied it, our parts, big parts of Ukraine, parts of east and Crimea. So he occupied it in 2014. So during a lot of years 鈥� I鈥檓 not speaking about just Biden, but those times was (Barack) Obama, then President Obama, then President Trump, then President Biden, now President Trump. And God bless, now, President Trump will stop him. But during 2014, nobody stopped him. He just occupied and took. He killed people. You know what the --"
Trump: 鈥�2015?鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥�2014.鈥�
Trump: 鈥淥h, 2014? I was not here.鈥�
Vance: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 exactly right.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淵es, but during 2014 'til 2022, the situation is the same, that people have been dying on the contact line. Nobody stopped him. You know that we had conversations with him, a lot of conversations, my bilateral conversation. And we signed with him, me, like, you, president, in 2019, I signed with him the deal. I signed with him, (French President Emmanuel) Macron and (former German Chancellor Angela) Merkel. We signed ceasefire. Ceasefire. All of them told me that he will never go 鈥� But after that, he broke the ceasefire, he killed our people, and he didn鈥檛 exchange prisoners. We signed the exchange of prisoners. But he didn鈥檛 do it. What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about? What do you mean?鈥�
Vance: 鈥淚鈥檓 talking about the kind of diplomacy that鈥檚 going to end the destruction of your country. Mr. President, with respect, I think it鈥檚 disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media. Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淗ave you ever been to Ukraine that you say what problems we have?鈥�
Vance: 鈥淚 have been to 鈥撯��
Zelenskyy: 鈥淐ome once.鈥�
Vance: 鈥淚鈥檝e actually watched and seen the stories, and I know that what happens is you bring people, you bring them on a propaganda tour, Mr. President. Do you disagree that you鈥檝e had problems, bringing people into your military?鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淲e have problems 鈥撯��
Vance: 鈥淎nd do you think that is respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淎 lot of questions. Let鈥檚 start from the beginning.鈥�
Vance: 鈥淪ure.鈥�
Trump erupts when Zelenskyy suggests the U.S. might 鈥榝eel it in the future鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淔irst of all, during the war, everybody has problems, even you. But you have nice ocean and don鈥檛 feel now. But you will feel it in the future. God bless 鈥撯��
Trump: 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 know that. You don鈥檛 know that. Don鈥檛 tell us what we鈥檙e going to feel. We鈥檙e trying to solve a problem. Don鈥檛 tell us what we鈥檙e going to feel.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淚鈥檓 not telling you. I am answering on these questions.鈥�
Trump: 鈥淏ecause you鈥檙e in no position to dictate that."
Vance: 鈥淭hat's exactly what you're doing.鈥�
Trump: "You are in no position to dictate what we鈥檙e going to feel. We鈥檙e going to feel very good.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淵ou will feel influenced.鈥�
Trump: 鈥淲e are going to feel very good and very strong.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淚 am telling you. You will feel influenced.鈥�
Trump: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e, right now, not in a very good position. You鈥檝e allowed yourself to be in a very bad position 鈥撯��
Zelenskyy: 鈥淔rom the very beginning of the war 鈥斺��
Trump: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not in a good position. You don鈥檛 have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards."
Zelenskyy: 鈥淚鈥檓 not playing cards. I鈥檓 very serious, Mr. President. I鈥檓 very serious.鈥�
Trump: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e playing cards. You鈥檙e gambling with the lives of millions of people. You鈥檙e gambling with World War III.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淲hat are you speaking about?鈥�
Trump: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e gambling with World War III. And what you鈥檙e doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that鈥檚 backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have.鈥�
Vance: 鈥淗ave you said thank you once?鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淎 lot of times. Even today.鈥�
Vance: 鈥淣o, in this entire meeting. You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淣o.鈥�
Vance: 鈥淥ffer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who鈥檚 trying to save your country.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淧lease. You think that if you will speak very loudly about the war, you can 鈥撯��
Trump: 鈥淗e鈥檚 not speaking loudly. He's not speaking loudly. Your country is in big trouble.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淐an I answer 鈥斺��
Trump: 鈥淣o, no. You've done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淚 know. I know.鈥�
Trump: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not winning. You鈥檙e not winning this. You have a damn good chance of coming out OK because of us.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淢r. President, we are staying in our country, staying strong. From the very beginning of the war, we鈥檝e been alone. And we are thankful. I said thanks."
Trump demands Zelenskyy accept a ceasefire
Trump: 鈥淚f you didn鈥檛 have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淚n three days. I heard it from Putin. In three days.鈥�
Trump: 鈥淢aybe less. It鈥檚 going to be a very hard thing to do business like this, I tell you.
Vance: 鈥淛ust say thank you.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淚 said a lot of times, thank you, to American people.鈥�
Vance: "Accept that there are disagreements, and let鈥檚 go litigate those disagreements rather than trying to fight it out in the American media when you鈥檙e wrong. We know that you鈥檙e wrong."
Trump: 鈥淏ut you see, I think it鈥檚 good for the American people to see what鈥檚 going on. I think it鈥檚 very important. That鈥檚 why I kept this going so long. You have to be thankful."
Zelenskyy: 鈥淚'm thankful.鈥�
Trump: "You don鈥檛 have the cards. You鈥檙e buried there. People are dying. You鈥檙e running low on soldiers. It would be a damn good thing, and then you tell us, 鈥業 don鈥檛 want a ceasefire. I don鈥檛 want a ceasefire, I want to go, and I want this.鈥� Look, if you can get a ceasefire right now, I tell you, you take it so the bullets stop flying and your men stop getting killed."
Zelenskyy: 鈥淥f course we want to stop the war. But I said to you, with guarantees.鈥�
Trump: 鈥淎re you saying you don鈥檛 want a ceasefire? I want a ceasefire. Because you'll get a ceasefire faster than an agreement.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淎sk our people about a ceasefire, what they think.鈥�
Trump: 鈥淭hat wasn鈥檛 with me. That was with a guy named Biden, who is not a smart person.鈥�
Zelenskyy: 鈥淭his is your president. It was your president.鈥�
Trump: 鈥淓xcuse me. That was with Obama, who gave you sheets, and I gave you Javelins. I gave you the Javelins to take out all those tanks. Obama gave you sheets. In fact, the statement is Obama gave sheets, and Trump gave Javelins. You鈥檝e got to be more thankful because let me tell you, you don鈥檛 have the cards. With us, you have the cards, but without us, you don鈥檛 have any cards."
Trump says Putin respects him due to the investigations of his first term
Vance, restating a reporter's question: 鈥淪he is asking what if Russia breaks the ceasefire.鈥�
Trump: 鈥淲hat, if anything? What if the bomb drops on your head right now? OK, what if they broke it? I don鈥檛 know, they broke it with Biden because Biden, they didn鈥檛 respect him. They didn鈥檛 respect Obama. They respect me. Let me tell you, Putin went through a hell of a lot with me. He went through a phony witch hunt ... All I can say is this. He might have broken deals with Obama and Bush, and he might have broken them with Biden. He did, maybe. Maybe he did. I don鈥檛 know what happened, but he didn鈥檛 break them with me. He wants to make a deal. I don鈥檛 know if you can make a deal.鈥�
鈥淭he problem is I鈥檝e empowered you (turning toward Zelenskyy) to be a tough guy, and I don鈥檛 think you鈥檇 be a tough guy without the United States. And your people are very brave. But you鈥檙e either going to make a deal or we鈥檙e out. And if we鈥檙e out, you鈥檒l fight it out. I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 going to be pretty, but you鈥檒l fight it out. But you don鈥檛 have the cards. But once we sign that deal, you鈥檙e in a much better position, but you鈥檙e not acting at all thankful. And that鈥檚 not a nice thing. I鈥檒l be honest. That鈥檚 not a nice thing.
"All right, I think we鈥檝e seen enough. What do you think? This is going to be great television. I will say that.鈥�
___
Adriana Gomez Licon, The Associated Press
