The Oval Office encounter between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky has been branded “quite extraordinary” and “very unsettling” by Irish premier Micheal Martin.
Mr Trump accused Volodymyr Zelensky of “gambling with World War Three” as the two presidents met in the White House earlier on Friday. In a series of testy exchanges, Mr Zelensky warned the US would “feel it in the future” if it did not continue to support Ukraine.
“Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem,” Mr Trump hit back.
Speaking loudly, Mr Trump later told his Ukrainian counterpart: “You’re gambling with millions of people seeing you gambling with World War Three. You’re gambling with World War Three.” Meanwhile US Vice President JD Vance questioned why Mr Zelensky had not said thank you for US aid during the meeting.
Mr Martin met with the Ukrainian president this week when he stopped in Ireland on his way to the US, and is due to meet the US president in March.
The Fianna Fáil leader was asked about the heated exchange between the two leaders during an appearance on Friday night's Late Late Show.
The Taoiseach told host Patrick Kielty: “It was quite extraordinary, very, very unsettling.” Mr Martin also paid tribute to the courage of Mr Zelensky in his opposition to the Russian invasion.
He added: “I have the utmost admiration for him and for the resilience of the Ukrainian people in fighting back the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“There was a lot of diplomacy on this week, beginning with Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the White House, followed by Keir Starmer, followed by President Zelensky. The whole idea around it was the idea of peace we all want, but there is a big issue for Europe.
“Europe does not trust President Putin, and with good reason given what happened in the Crimean invasion and so on.”
As he prepares to visit Washington, Mr Martin was in the RTE studio to discuss why he is going to meet Donald Trump; the turbulent start to the new Dáil and his plans on how to tackle the housing crisis.
Also joining The Late Late Show on Friday night were two icons of stage and screen, multi-award winners Jessica Lange and Ed Harris . Starring in the adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s classic, Long Day’s Journey into Night, two of the most talented actors of our time were in town for the world premiere of the film at the Dublin International Film Festival.
Former EastEnders actor Danny Dyer also dropped in ahead of his new movie Marching Powder to chat about life since Albert Square, capturing hearts as Freddie Jones in Rivals , and why he’s decided to run a caravan park this summer with his daughter Dani.
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