National security adviser Mike Waltz said during an interview over the weekend that the notion that the Trump administration ambushed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was “absolutely false” and that it was his demeanor and behavior during the meeting the derailed things.
Waltz made the remarks during a Sunday CNN interview with Dana Bash on “State of the Union” when asked about how things could get back on track between the United States and Ukraine after the blowup in the Oval Office on Friday.
“What was so, I think, stunning to all of us in the Oval Office was that it was not clear Zelensky was going to go to negotiations at all, that he would ever be able to negotiate with Putin, and whether he shared our goal of ending this war,” Waltz said.
“So, what I made clear, as Secretary Rubio and I said, look, this cannot proceed, was that this was a huge missed opportunity for him and for his country,” he continued.
He said that Zelensky could have left the White House on Friday with a deal in hand as he went back to Europe to meet with President Macron of France and with Prime Minister Starmer of the United Kingdom “where they were talking about European boots on the ground, security guarantees for Ukraine, a positive movement towards ending this war, and having Ukraine and the United States being bound together for a generation economically.”
He reiterated what President Donald Trump has made clear, that Zelensky will be welcomed back when he is “ready to truly engage for peace.”
He said that it was not clear to the administration that Zelensky wanted to negotiate an end to the war and that his “demands of security guarantees” were a potential roadblock.
“And, further, coming to the Oval Office, with the body language, the shaking of head, the kind of the arms crossed, we just found it incredibly disrespectful,” he said. “We were ready to sign that deal.”
“I want to address directly that this was some type of ambush,” he continued. “It is absolutely false. We had negotiated the minerals deal in the weeks prior. It was difficult, but it was done and finalized and ready to be signed in the East Room.”
WATCH:
National Security Adviser @MikeWaltz47 says it’s “absolutely false” that the Trump-Zelensky blowup was “some type of ambush,” telling @DanaBashCNN, “It was not clear… whether he shared our goal of ending this war.” pic.twitter.com/b564BAMzd9
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) March 2, 2025
