Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in London for meetings with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European allies, his spokesman said on Saturday, a day after his clash with US President Donald Trump.
"We are in London," spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov told AFP, adding that Zelensky would meet Starmer at 1715 GMT on Saturday and then King Charles III and a group of European allies on Sunday.
A raised-voice spat on Friday between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky sent shockwaves across the world, with the undiplomatic shouting match casting doubts over efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
The US president openly berated Zelensky for not being "thankful", later accusing the Ukrainian leader of "not being ready for peace" and having "disrespected" the United States in the "cherished Oval Office".
Here are some of the political reactions from around the world.
The United States, Ukraine and Europe need to "stick together" in order to secure a "durable peace" in Ukraine, NATO chief Mark Rutte told the BBC on Saturday.
"I have been twice on the phone now with President (Volodymyr) Zelensky. I told him this, we need to stick together, the United States, Ukraine and Europe to bring Ukraine to a durable peace," Rutte said, a day after the Ukrainian leader clashed with US President Donald Trump at the White House.
Rutte told the BBC on that Zelensky must "find a way" to restore his relationship with US counterpart Donald Trump after the two clashed in the White House.
Rutte said that had talked to the Ukrainian leader and told him: "You have to find a way, dear Volodymyr, to restore your relationship with Donald Trump and the American administration."
"For the first time, Trump told the truth to the cocaine clown's face," said former president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's security council, referring to Zelensky.
Kirill Dmitriev, one of Moscow's negotiators in the first high-level talks between Russian and US officials since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine, branded the spat between the two leaders as "historic".
Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said Zelensky was "right" as "peace without guarantees is not possible".
"Cease-fire without guarantees is the way to Russian occupation of the entire European continent," Shmygal wrote on X.
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on the EU to open direct talks with Moscow to end the Ukraine war and signalled it would oppose a bloc-wide agreement on the conflict at an upcoming summit, according to a letter obtained by AFP.
"I am convinced that the European Union -- following the example of the United States -- should enter into direct discussions with Russia on a ceasefire and a sustainable peace in Ukraine," Orban wrote to Antonio Costa, who heads the Council of the EU's 27 member states.
Germany's foreign minister said the "unspeakable" row between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House resembled a "bad dream" as Kyiv's European allies rallied to its side.
"Yesterday evening underlined that a new age of infamy has begun," Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a televised statement.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that if there was "an aggressor" in the Ukraine war, it was Russia.
"There is an aggressor which is Russia. There is an aggressed people which is Ukraine," Macron told journalists, adding: "We were all right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago and to continue to do so."
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his country would stand by war-torn Ukraine after the row.
"Ukraine, Spain stands with you," Sanchez, a staunch backer of Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion who pledged one billion euros of aid in a visit to Kyiv this week, wrote on X.
Staunch Kyiv ally Poland moved to reassure Ukrainians after the dispute.
"Dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X in a post addressed to Zelensky.
Senate Democrats accused Trump and his Vice President JD Vance of siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Trump and Vance are doing Putin's dirty work," Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer posted on social media.
With AFP
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