Acknowledging the Oval Office fiasco he found himself at the center of was “not good,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held his ground hours later in a Fox News interview where he refused to ask President Donald Trump for forgiveness.
The stunning moment instigated by Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday unfolded after Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of not being “thankful enough” to the new MAGA administration. Zelensky later took to Fox News for an exclusive interview with Bret Baier, where he was asked right out of the gate if he thought he owed Trump an apology.
But Zelensky wasn’t ready to admit fault in the public dust-up. He first launched into a passionate showing of gratitude to Americans for their support.
“Nobody wants to finish this war more than we,” Zelensky said Friday. “Because we in Ukraine we are in this war, we are in this battle and battle for freedom for our lives, still. “So, I'm just telling that I think that we have to be on the same side, and I hope that the president, on our side together with us and that is very important to stop Putin.”
But Baier continued to press Zelensky on whether he believes Trump is due an apology for what the Fox News host called the “public spat.”
ALSO READ: 'Absolutely unconscionable': Ex-Republican demands Trump removed from office after fight
“I'm not hearing from you, Mr. President, a thought that you owe the president an apology.
“No, I respect president, and I respect the American people, and if – I don't know...I think that we have to be very open and very honest,” Zelensky said. “And I'm not sure that we did something bad. I think maybe sometimes, some things, we have to discuss out of media, with all respect to the democracy and to a free media, but there are things that where we have to understand the position of Ukraine and Ukrainians"
He added: “And I think that is the most important thing.”
But Zelensky also used the opportunity to make clear that American support is vital to his country’s freedom from Russian aggression.
"This kind of path is not good for both sides,” he said. “But I can’t change our Ukrainian attitude toward Russia. This is very, very clear that Americans are the best of our friends. Europeans are the best of our friends, and Putin, with Russia, their enemies. And it doesn't mean that we don't want peace, we just want to recognize the reality.”
Watch the clip below or at this link:
Baier: Right. I'm not hearing from you, Mr. President, a thought that you owe the president an apology?
Zelenskyy: No. I respect president. And I respect American people. I’m not sure that we did something bad pic.twitter.com/SSpUqJIMcr
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 28, 2025
