In February this year, the "quarrel of the century" in the Oval Office of the White House shocked the world. On the afternoon of October 17, local time, Ukrainian President Zelensky visited the White House for the third time in eight months and met with US President Trump. Judging from the media reports after this meeting, it seems that it is "calm", but a few days later, another "big melon" appeared.

Trump meets Zelensky at the White House (CFP)

The Financial Times on October 19 that during the ¡°intensive meeting¡± a few days ago, Trump urged Zelensky to accept Russia¡¯s proposed ¡°armistice conditions¡± and warned that Russian President Putin had mentioned that he would ¡°destroy¡± Ukraine if Ukraine did not agree.

The report subsequently quoted informed sources as revealing that the meeting between the President of the United States and U.S.U.U. has evolved into ¡°heavy quarrels¡± several times, and that Trump has ¡°broken out many times¡± and even ¡°lecturing¡± Zelensky.Russia-Ukraine conflictThe map of the front line was thrown aside, insisting that Zelensky "cede" the entire Donbas region to Putin, repeatedly citing arguments made by Putin during a phone call with him the day before.

While Trump later expressed his support for an immediate ceasefire on the current front, the intense meeting appeared to reflect his repeatedly unstable stance on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and his willingness to support Putin¡¯s claims.

On October 17, 2025, U.S. Washington, Ukraine President Zelensky arrived at the White House to meet with U.S. President Trump IC Photo

The Financial Times further that the meeting between Trump and Zelensky was at a time when the U.S. president was trying to push for a new round of efforts to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict after a ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas.

Zelensky and his team traveled to the White House to persuade Trump to supply Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles, but were eventually rejected.

The current tense meeting is easily reminiscent of another disharmony that took place in the White House in February, when Trump and U.S. Vice President Wals criticized Zelensky¡¯s ¡°lack of gratitude¡± for the United States.

According to several European officials informed of the talks, Trump appeared to have literally adopted Putin¡¯s remarks during the October 17 meeting, which contradicted his recent remarks about Russia¡¯s economic downturn.

A European official with knowledge of the talks said Trump told Zelensky that Putin explained to him that the conflict was a "special operation" rather than a "war", adding that Zelensky must reach an agreement or face "destruction".

The official said Trump told Zelensky directly that he was losing the conflict and warned: "If (Putin) wants to, he can destroy you."

Officials familiar with the talks even described that at one point during the talks, Trump threw the battlefield map of Ukraine directly aside. Trump said he was "tired" of seeing maps of the front lines in Ukraine over and over again, the official said.

¡°This red line, I don¡¯t even know where it is, I¡¯ve never been there,¡± Trump said.

The official also said Trump believes the Russian economy is "performing well," in sharp contrast to his recent public remarks that "Putin should negotiate because his economy is about to collapse."

The White House and the Ukrainian President's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on what the Financial Times reported, citing multiple people familiar with the matter.

After the October 17 talks, although there were no "big oats" at the time, the U.S. Cable News Network (CNN) that there were disagreements between Trump and Zelensky on the future of the conflict in Ukraine, citing several informed sources said the two had hours of talks accompanied by their respective senior assistants, the talks were tense, honest, and sometimes even somewhat " embarrassing."

After the talks, Trump flew to West Palm Beach, Florida, and he told reporters after his arrival: ¡°I think they (OU) should stop the conflict immediately. It¡¯s bordered by the current front, no matter where the front is now. Otherwise, things are too complicated and you can never solve it. You have to stop before the (current) front.¡±

"Both sides should go home, go back to their families and stop killing. That's how it should be." Trump added that he had conveyed this view to the leaders of Russia and Ukraine. On social media, Trump also posted a "strongly suggested" that it is time to stop killing and reach an agreement. Russia and Ukraine should cease fire on the spot. Both sides claim victory and be judged by history.

On October 19 local time, Trump said in an interview with Fox News that he was confident in ending the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, adding that "Putin will get something, he has won some territory."

The same day, the Washington Post cited two senior officials to reveal that Putin insisted in the call that Ukraine abandoned control of the Donetsk region as one of the conditions for ending the conflict.

The two officials said that the territorial claims put forward in the call were slightly smaller than the conditions put forward by Putin at the US-Russian Anchorage talks in August this year, and that Putin was willing to give up part of the territory controlled by Russian troops in the southern Ukrainian provinces of Zaporizhia and Helsinki in exchange for full control of Donetsk.

Another senior European official said Ukraine is unlikely to accept the request, ¡°it¡¯s like having them sell a leg to exchange air.¡±

On August 15, Anchorage, Alaska, USA, Trump and Putin met IC photo

According to the Financial Times, Trump's tough attitude of repeating Putin's remarks during the talks also shattered the hopes of many European allies that he might be persuaded to strengthen his support for Kiev. A few weeks ago, Trump had expressed "frustration and impatience" with Putin's refusal to hold bilateral peace talks with Zelensky, which once raised hope in Europe.

Three European officials who were informed of the White House talks also confirmed that Trump spent most of the talks "reprimanding" Zelensky, repeating Putin's views on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and urging Zelensky to accept Russia's proposal.

Zelensky said one of the officials said the European leaders were ¡°not optimistic, but are pragmatically planning the next step.¡±

Zelensky said in a statement on October 19 that ¡°the United States, Europe, the G20 and G7 countries need to take decisive action to end this conflict.¡±

In an interview with NBC on the same day (pre-recorded on October 17), Zelensky insisted that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict should be frozen along the current front before the Ukrainian-Russian peace talks enter.

¡°I know we have to end this conflict, and from where the soldiers are stationed, from the contact line, to the conflict,¡± he said, ¡°if we want to end this conflict, if we want to urgently negotiate peace, we need to stay there, not give Putin something extra.¡±

The Observer Network.