Several European Leaders Shell-Shocked But Orbán Pleased After Zelenskyy-Trump Standoff
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Several European leaders were left shellshocked, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was pleased after U.S. President Donald J. Trump broke off a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following a heated exchange.
Trump berated Ukrainian President Zelenskyy for being “disrespectful” Friday in an extraordinary Oval Office meeting, then abruptly called off the signing of a minerals deal with the U.S. that Trump said would have moved Ukraine closer to ending its war with Russia.
“Strong men make peace, weak men make war,” Orbán wrote on social media platform X in a reaction to the fast unfolding events. “Today, President @realDonaldTrump stood bravely for peace. Even if it was difficult for many to digest. Thank you, Mr. President!” he added.
However, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, strongly disagreed with Trump, saying, “Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge.”
She added on X: “Ukraine is Europe! We stand by Ukraine. We will step up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back the aggressor.”
Kallas was already angered this week when, after arriving in Washington, she was told that a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been canceled due to “scheduling issues.”
She had flown to the American capital with the expectation to sit down with her counterpart and talk about Trump’s push to launch negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, which has rattled Europe.
THANKFUL TO US
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was among the other European leaders shocked after Trump told Zelenskyy he should show more respect and be thankful to the American people. “Dear @ZelenskyyUa, dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone,” Tusk wrote on social media platform X late Friday.
“There is an aggressor: Russia,” added French President Emmanuel Macron. “
There is a victim: Ukraine. We were right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago and to keep doing SO,” he said on X.
“By “we,” I mean the Americans, the Europeans, the Canadians, the Japanese, and many others.
Thank you to all who have helped and continue to do so. And respect to those who have been fighting since the beginning-because they are fighting for their dignity, their independence, their children, and the security of Europe,” Macron stressed.
With tensions reaching boiling point, Zelenskyy soon turned to social media to say: “Thank you, America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
Yet by that time it appeared too little too late. Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, summarized the meeting. She held her head in her hands in reaction to the heated exchanges between American President Trump and President Zelenskyy.
(With additional reporting by the Worthy News Europe Bureau in Budapest.)
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