Full transcript of the exchange between Trump and Zelensky

On Friday, February 28, a meeting between American President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky took place in the Oval Office of the White House. During the conversation, a dispute broke out between the parties involving the Vice President of the United States, J. D. Vance. The decoding of the scandal, which has no analogues in modern history, is in the material of Izvestia.

Zelensky arrived at the White House around noon local time. Donald Trump met him on the porch and publicly praised his outfit, a black sweatshirt with a trident and black trousers.:

— He dressed up today!

Before the start of the talks, Trump expressed the hope that the parties would be able to reach a large-scale agreement that would allow "Ukraine not to return to war."

An open skirmish between the presidents began in the Oval Office after Trump said that Zelensky would have to compromise.

Vance: If you went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposite side in October, say a few words of gratitude to the United States of America and the president who is trying to save your country.

Zelensky: Please, do you think that if you talk very loudly about the conflict...

Trump: He doesn't speak loudly. He doesn't speak loudly. Your country is in big trouble. No, not really. (Stops Zelensky.) You've talked a lot. Your country is in big trouble. I know. You are not winning. You're not winning at this. You have a damn good chance of coming out of this okay thanks to us.

Zelensky: Mr. President, we remain in our country, we remain strong. From the very beginning, we were alone. And we are grateful. I said thank you in this office.

Trump: You weren't alone. We have given you, through this stupid president, 350 billion dollars. (Zelensky tries to interrupt.) We have given you military equipment. And your people are brave, but they used our military equipment. If you didn't have our military equipment, this conflict would have ended in two weeks. In three days.

Zelensky: I heard it from Putin. In three days. In two weeks. Of course, yes.

Trump: It's going to be very difficult to do business like this. Again, just say thank you.

Zelensky: I have said many times words of gratitude to the American people.

Vance: Accept that there are disagreements, and let's resolve them legally, rather than trying to figure it out through the American media when you're wrong. We know you're wrong.

Trump: But, you see, I think it's important for the American people to see what's going on. I think this is very important. That's why I've been doing this for so long. You should be grateful. You don't have any cards. You're trapped in there. Your people are dying. You're running out of soldiers. And then you tell us, "I don't want a cease-fire. I don't want a cease-fire. I want to move on, and I want to do that."

Look, if you could achieve a cease-fire now, I tell you: take it so that the bullets stop flying and your people stop fighting. Are you saying you don't want a cease-fire? I want a cease-fire. Because you'll get a cease-fire sooner than... (Inaudible.)

Zelensky: Ask our people about it...

Trump: It wasn't in front of me. It was with a guy named Biden, who is not an intelligent person. It was with Obama. Excuse me. It was with Obama, who gave you sheets, and I gave you Javelin missiles. I gave you Javelin to destroy all these tanks. Obama gave you the sheets. In fact, you can say this: "Obama gave the sheets, and Trump gave the Javelin missiles."

You should be more grateful. Because, let me tell you, you don't have any cards. You have maps with us. But without us, you don't have any maps at all. Mr. President, you are risking the lives of millions of people right now. You risk that the conflict will result in a third world war. And you are very disrespectful to our country.

Zelensky: I don't play cards. No trumps... No trumps, Mr. President.

Trump: It is very difficult to negotiate in such conditions.

Zelensky: We have disagreements, but we have to resolve them behind closed doors.

Trump: It's very good that everyone sees this. You should be grateful to us. You have no trump cards, no people. You say you don't want a cease-fire. What's it? If we cease fire, we will put an end to the deaths.

Zelensky: Of course, I want the war to end. But I want guarantees. Ask the Ukrainians what they think about the cease-fire, this is our decision.

About half an hour later, Trump came to the conclusion that Zelensky was not ready for peace.