Zelensky holds a ‘street-stand style’ press conference following meeting with Trump, sparks online discussions

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House again for talks with US President Donald Trump. However, he not only failed to secure the Tomahawk cruise missiles he had hoped for, but also ended up holding a "street-stand style" press conference at a small table set up outside the White House, which triggered discussions among some netizens on social media in recent days.

Trump and Zelensky were split over the future of the war in Ukraine following their meeting on Friday in Washington, CNN reported.

Zelensky came to the US hoping to receive long-range missiles to bolster the fight against Russia. But after what several people described as an at times "uncomfortable" discussion, Trump declared on Friday that both sides should stop fighting and accept the current battle line, a position the Ukrainian president has rejected in the past, according to CNN.

The Washington Post described the meeting as a tense one, as the US president tossed aside maps of the front line and urged Kiev to concede its entire Donbas region to Russia to clinch a deal, the US media said, citing people familiar with the meeting.

Following the meeting with Trump, Zelensky spoke to reporters in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House, according to US media reports. However, the image of such "street-stand style" press conference at a small table set up has aroused the discussions online in recent days.

"Zelensky was not allowed to hold a press conference on the White House grounds - only behind the fence," said Maimunka News on X platform. The account, covering geopolitics news, has over 560,000 followers.

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal!" a netizen called niky left this message on the post. "Zelensky and Ukraine are proof."

"No Tomahawks, No money, No Press Conference we here … get lost!"said another post published by a netizen Lord Bebo on X.

"Trump kicked Zelensky out pretty quickly, he did not even allow him to do the press conference on the white house premise!" the netizen said.

Trump met with Zelensky at the White House on Friday, but ruled out a US-Russia-Ukraine summit in the near future, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

It was Zelensky's third visit to the White House during Trump's second term. The meeting came one day after Trump's lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, per Xinhua.

Some US media also compared the latest meeting between Trump and Zelensky with the meeting between the two leaders in February that devolved into an explosive shouting scene.

The Hill, for example, noted that the latest meeting on October 17 between the two presidents, holding as a working lunch with the two leaders sitting across from each other, was initially carried out in front of the press without any major explosions between the two sides.

This was likely a welcome relief after a February Oval Office meeting, per the Hill.