France's Prime Minister François Bayrou is unimpressed with President Donald Trump's angry dressing down of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week, The Associated Press reported Monday.
“On Friday night, in the Oval Office of the White House, a staggering scene unfurled before the lenses of the entire world, marked by brutality, a desire to humiliate, with the goal of making Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fold through threats, so that he gives in to the demands of his aggressors,” said Bayrou during a parliamentary debate. “All this was summed up in one phrase before the planet’s cameras: ‘Either you find a deal with Putin or we will abandon you.’”
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“For the honor of democratic responsibility, for the honor of Ukraine and, I dare say, for the honor of Europe, President Zelensky did not fold and I think we can show him our appreciation,” Bayrou continued, prompting the applause of members of Parliament.
French politicians have sought frantically to prevent the United States from turning away from its obligations to protect Ukraine from the brutal, yearslong Russian invasion and occupation, with French President Emmanuel Macron recently forced to fact-check Trump on the structure of aid to Ukraine during a meeting between them.
But tensions came to a head during the Oval Office meeting last week between Trump and Zelensky, where a mineral deal between the two countries fell through as Zelensky constantly pressed for greater security commitments. Trump, who has repeatedly and falsely blamed Zelensky for starting the war in the first place, shamed Zelensky on camera and ultimately kicked him out of the White House.
Trump has shown no signs of remorse or of backing down over the incident, which prompted outrage both in the American press and around the world. On the contrary, he demanded Monday that Zelensky apologize to him for the dispute.