Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his first interview since his Oval Office confrontation with President Donald Trump earlier in the day Friday, defended what he said during the meeting, telling Fox News‘ Bret Baier, “We have to be very open and very honest.”
Asked whether he thinks he owed Trump an apology, Zelensky did not give one. But he did say that he regretted the exchange, which ended with Trump ordering him to leave the White House and with a minerals deal unsigned.
The remarkable thing about the confrontation was that it played out before pool TV cameras and reporters, with the moment dominating cable news throughout the day.
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“I think it was not good,” Zelensky said. “I think it was not good because we had a lot of different dialogues. I’m always open to media, but there are very sensitive things. I just want to be honest, and I just want our partners to understand the situation correctly and I want to understand everything correctly. That’s about us. Not to lose our friendship.”
Baier had been scheduled for the sit-down since earlier in the week, and Zelensky kept the commitment despite what happened. He appeared in studio on Fox News’ Special Report.
The Ukrainian president said that he was trying to convey to Trump not to trust Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We respect and we believe in the strongest of the United States,” but that the U.S. also had interests in Ukraine given the presence of more than 20 companies there.
Asked about criticism from Democrats that Trump has become a “lapdog” for Putin, Zelensky noted that the president has said that he wants to be in the “middle” of negotiations.
“I want to be honest. I want him to be more on our side,” Zelensky said.
Trump “always said ‘peace through strength.’ And that’s why I think he is strong, the United States is strong, two parties together … against Russia,” he said.
Following the meeting with Trump, Zelensky has been flooded with messages of support from European leaders.
Asked whether his relationship with Trump can be salvaged, Zelensky said, “Of course, because the relation is more than two presidents, the strong relations between our people.”