Zelensky pleads with the US to 'stand more firmly' with Ukraine
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 1 March 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
President Zelensky has restated Ukraine's gratitude to the United States for its support since the Russian invasion, after President Trump accused him of being ungrateful in an angry clash at the White House. Mr Zelensky said Kyiv was still willing to sign a minerals deal with Washington but that his country needed US security guarantees. He said Russians were still killing Ukrainians and peace could only come when Ukraine had a strong position for negotiations. Mr Zelensky has landed in Britain and is due to meet the Prime Minister Keir Starmer ahead of a summit of European leaders in London.
Also in the programme: the Kurdish militant group, the PKK, has declared an immediate ceasefire with Turkey; and we look at some of the reasons behind why South Korean births increased last year for the first time in nearly a decade.
(Photo: Empty Ukraine-US press conference after Oval Office meeting. Credits: JIm Lo Scalzo/EPA)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to NewsHour from the BBC World Service. I'm Celia Hatton, and I'm coming to you |
| 0:08.2 | live from our studio in central London. We begin this hour with the global fallout we're seeing |
| 0:14.4 | following Friday's fireworks in the Oval Office, a very public confrontation between the |
| 0:20.3 | U.S. President and his Ukrainian counterpart |
| 0:23.1 | two men who were supposed to be allies. President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance |
| 0:29.3 | sat down on Friday with visiting President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to discuss peace |
| 0:35.4 | in Ukraine. It was meant to be a brief chat in front of journalists |
| 0:39.2 | before signing a pre-agreed mineral deal. Instead, the conversation which was playing out on live |
| 0:46.1 | TV quickly degenerated into a verbal boxing match. Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance castigated Mr. |
| 0:52.8 | Zelensky for not being grateful enough for U.S. support in its war with Russia. |
| 0:57.8 | Donald Trump became visibly furious, shaking his finger at the Ukrainian leader. |
| 1:03.5 | You're gambling with World War III, and what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country. |
| 1:11.6 | Even today, you said thank you. |
| 1:13.6 | Even today. |
| 1:14.6 | You went to Pennsylvania and campaign for the opposition in October, |
| 1:17.6 | offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America |
| 1:21.6 | and the president who's trying to save your country. |
| 1:25.6 | Please. You think that if you will speak very loudly about the war, you can... |
| 1:30.2 | He's not speaking loudly. We are staying in our country, staying strong from the very beginning |
| 1:35.0 | of the war. We've been alone. And we are thankful. I said, thanks. You haven't been allowed. |
| 1:39.5 | You haven't been allowed. We gave you through this stupid president, $350 billion. |
| 1:45.0 | You voted for your president. |
... |
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