Journal De Bruxelles - European allies rally behind Ukraine after White House row

Stunned by Friday's altercation in the Oval Office, which saw Zelensky depart the White House without signing an expected mineral deal, most European leaders rushed to his defense.

"You are not alone," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, fresh off his own visit to the White House, said he had spoken to both Trump and Zelensky following the clash and vowed "unwavering support" for Kyiv.

Representatives from more than a dozen European countries will convene in London for a summit Sunday, which according to Downing Street will focus on shoring up support for "securing a just and enduring peace" in Ukraine.

The gathering will also address the need for Europe to increase defence cooperation amid fears over whether the United States will continue to support NATO.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is ready to "open the discussion" on a possible future European nuclear deterrent, following a request from Germany's next leader Friedrich Merz.

Merz has stressed the need for the continent to move quickly to "achieve independence" from the United States on defence matters.

Trump has spoken dismissively of the transatlantic alliance and stunned many in Europe when he reached out to Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a deal on Ukraine, which Moscow invaded three years ago.

- Shouting match -

Trump's sudden shift on Ukraine, sidelining Kyiv and Europe while pursuing reproachment with Putin, has rattled the NATO allies.

Those concerns were only exacerbated Friday by the scene that played out in the White House where the years-long US policy of massive support for Ukraine collapsed in a shouting match.

During the clash, in front of US and international media, Trump and Vice President JD Vance shouted at Zelensky, accusing him of not being "thankful" and refusing to accept their proposed truce terms.

"You don't have the cards right now," Trump said. "You're either going to make a deal or we're out, and if we're out, you'll fight it out and I don't think it's going to be pretty".

Zelensky departed shortly after, with Trump posting on social media that "he can come back when he is ready for peace".

US media reported that Zelensky had been told to leave by senior Trump officials.

The US president later told journalists that Zelensky was "overplaying his hand" and should agree to end fighting "immediately".

Zelensky refused to apologise, telling Fox News, "I'm not sure that we did something bad". He did, however, say he wished the exchange had not taken place in front of reporters.

Russia, however, was delighted.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev called Zelensky an "insolent pig" who had received "a proper slap down in the Oval Office."

Trump's Republican Party echoed the Russians in blaming Zelensky.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for Zelensky to "apologize for wasting our time for a meeting that was going to end the way it did".

Top US Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer meanwhile said Trump and Vance were "doing Putin's dirty work".

- Compromise with 'killer'? -

The meltdown came after Trump said Ukraine will have to make "compromises" in a truce with Russia, which has occupied swaths of the country.

Zelensky said there should be "no compromises with a killer on our territory".

After he pointed out that previous Western-backed peace efforts had failed to deter Russian aggression, Vance interrupted and called him "disrespectful".

The session then boiled over into Trump and Vance loudly berating the Ukrainian leader. He sat in evident discomfort as his hosts talked over him.

Trump has alarmed Kyiv and European allies with his abrupt U-turn in US policy, casting himself as a mediator between Putin and Zelensky and refusing to condemn the Russian invasion.

He said in the Oval Office that he had "spoken on numerous occasions" to Putin -- more than has been publicly reported.

Trump called Zelensky a "dictator" last week and has said he trusts Putin to "keep his word" over a ceasefire.

When asked by Fox News if the relationship with Trump could be salvaged, Zelensky said "of course".

But he also said he wished Trump was "really more on our side".

Meanwhile, Russia's assault on Ukraine continued.

Russian infantry were storming the Ukrainian border from the Russian region of Kursk, near areas that were seized last summer by Ukrainian forces, Kyiv said Friday.

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E.Goossens--JdB