Did Zelensky's 'Wrong Gift' Derail His Oval Office Meeting With Donald Trump? Ukraine Prez Reveals ...

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with Time, opened up about his tense February 28 Oval Office meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. According to Zelensky, he had meticulously planned the meeting, viewing it as a pivotal moment in Trump's push for a Ukraine peace deal. In an effort to make a lasting impression and counteract what he saw as Russian propaganda influencing the White House, Zelensky said he prepared a set of symbolic gifts.

The role of gifts in Trump's diplomatic tradition

As Time reported, Trump has a well-documented history of receiving grand symbolic gifts from world leaders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gifted him a golden pager to commemorate Israeli military actions, while Russian President Vladimir Putin went a step further, commissioning an oil painting of Trump and sending it to the White House.

Zelensky revealed to Time that he had chosen to bring the championship belt of his friend, world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk, as a gesture of goodwill. However, instead of leading with the belt, he opted to present a more somber gift first-a folder containing gruesome photographs of Ukrainian prisoners of war who had endured torture and starvation in Russian captivity.

Trump's reaction to the gruesome photos

Zelensky told the news publication that he wanted to appeal to Trump's humanity. And, as the televised briefing began, Zelensky said he handed Trump the folder.

The folder contained gruesome images of emaciated and tortured Ukrainian soldiers who had been held in Russian captivity.“That's tough stuff,” Trump reportedly told Zelensky as he flipped through the images. According to US officials cited by Time, this moment shifted the tone of the meeting, making Trump defensive as though he were being blamed for the suffering depicted in the photos.

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