Secretary of State Marco Rubio is demanding an apology from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after what he called a “fiasco” in the Oval Office. The heated meeting, which was meant to discuss peace efforts in Ukraine, spiraled into chaos when Zelensky allegedly antagonized both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
“Apologize for turning this thing into the fiasco for him that it became,” Rubio declared in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Friday. “There was no need for him to go in there and become antagonistic.”
The diplomatic disaster unfolded as Zelensky, 47, pressed Vance on the lack of diplomatic progress in the war-torn region. What started as a civil discussion quickly escalated, with Vance accusing Zelensky of trying to litigate in front of the press.
“This is a serious matter,” Rubio emphasized. “Thousands have died, and he talks about the horrific things happening to prisoners of war and children—yes, all true and tragic. But this needs to come to an end.”
“The way you bring it to an end is you get Russia to the table to talk,” Rubio said, criticizing Zelensky’s approach. The secretary of state accused the Ukrainian leader of pushing Trump to denounce Russian President Vladimir Putin and demand that Moscow foot the bill for Ukraine’s reconstruction—a move he claims only hindered peace efforts.
“When you aggressively bring up those topics to a dealmaker like Trump, you’re not going to get people to the table,” Rubio explained. “It starts to look like Zelensky doesn’t actually want a peace deal. He says he does, but maybe he doesn’t.”
Zelensky, however, stood his ground in his first public response since the clash. Speaking to Fox News’ Bret Baier, he denied any wrongdoing.
“I’m not sure that we did something bad,” he said. “I respect the president and I respect the American people.”
Despite the fiery exchange, Zelensky insisted he remains committed to negotiations and emphasized the importance of securing lasting security guarantees for Ukraine. He also revealed that the meeting was supposed to include signing a major rare earths and minerals deal with the U.S.—a move he believes is crucial for Ukraine’s future stability.
“Just a cease-fire without security guarantees is too risky for our people. Everyone fears that Putin could return tomorrow,” Zelensky stated. “We want a just and lasting peace.”
As tensions simmer, the world watches to see whether peace talks will move forward—or if this latest Oval Office showdown has only widened the divide.
