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Ex-Austrian Foreign Minister brands Zelensky in White House ‘like a bull in a china shop’

"As far as I remember, there has never been such a confrontation in a public political discussion," Karin Kneissl said, commenting on the spat in the White House

MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky behaved like a bull in a china shop during his visit to the White House, provoking a disagreement with US President Donald Trump, the head of the Geopolitical Observatory for Russia's Key Issues "G.O.R.K.I." center of the St. Petersburg State University and former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said in a commentary with TASS.

"As far as I remember, there has never been such a confrontation in a public political discussion," Kneissl said, commenting on the spat in the White House.

"They saw it all over the world, and I would say that Vladimir Zelensky set it off, because he provoked [his counterparts] right in front of the camera, and in general, protocol does not allow this," she added.

As the ex-Foreign Minister noted, to understand the mistake of the head of the Kiev regime, "you don't even need to be a great connoisseur of protocol, logic is enough: polite, small talk is conducted in front of the camera." Kneissl pointed out that this was exactly how Trump had started the conversation.

"And then, when the meeting takes place behind closed doors, you can conduct tough negotiations, you can get to the point. But in this case, Zelensky behaved like a bull in a china shop. So, now he is paying for it - not only him, but also the people of Ukraine, who are paying a high price," she concluded.

On February 28, Zelensky arrived at the White House for a meeting with Trump. Their televised exchange, with reporters present, unraveled into a shouting match, with Trump scolding Zelensky for being disrespectful to the US, and Vice President JD Vance noting that Zelensky had not ever said a "thank you" for all the support provided to Kiev. A news conference scheduled to follow the meeting was canceled, and Trump posted a statement on the Truth Social media platform saying that Zelensky was disrespectful and not ready for peace.

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