Norwegian fuel giant pauses sales to US after Trump-Zelensky talks
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Haltbakk Bunkers has supplied over 3 million liters of fuel to the United States military in 2024, but discontinued sales following the heated argument between Zelensky and Trump in the Oval Office.
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Vice President JD Vance, right, speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, as President Donald Trump listens in the Oval Office at the White House, on Friday, February 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Major Norwegian fuel company Haltbakk Bunkers announced on Sunday a ban on selling fuel to the United States following the public dispute between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky during the latter's visit to the Oval Office.
WOW.
— Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 (@jurgen_nauditt) March 1, 2025
One of Norway's largest fuel companies, Haltbakk Bunkers, refused to refuel US Navy ships yesterday due to trump's behavior.
The company said it witnessed a live demonstration of the current US president's nonsense on an unprecedented scale.
Big thanks to the President of… pic.twitter.com/6vteP8OpmP
The firm declared its support for Zelensky on its social media on Saturday, describing the argument that took place between US President Donald Trump, his Vice President JD Vance and the Ukrainian President Zelensky as a "sh*t show", while praising Zelensky for his self-restraint.
“As a result, we have decided to immediately STOP as fuel provider to American forces in Norway and their ships calling Norwegian ports,” the firm, which supplied 3,000,000 liters of fuel to the US military in 2024, added.
Trump kicks Zelensky out of the White House
Trump kicked his Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky out of the White House on March 1 following a heated argument between the two presidents where they exchanged sharp accusations in front of reporters in the White House.
According to Axios, Trump was annoyed that Zelensky chose to wear military-style attire instead of a traditional suit during their meeting, where he repeatedly mocked Zelensky’s outfit, particularly after Trump’s advisors had advised Zelensky’s team that wearing a suit to the White House would be more respectful.
According to Axios, Trump discussed the situation with his top aides while Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials waited in a separate room for about an hour, then Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz informed the Ukrainian delegation—who had still been hoping to finalize a minerals deal with the US—that they needed to leave, a senior White House official told Axios.
The Ukrainian President said that the relationship between the two countries could still be mended despite the disagreement in an interview with Fox News, emphasizing the crucial role of Washington's support in Kiev's ongoing battle against Russia's vastly larger and better-equipped military.
America’s help has been vital in helping us survive, and I want to acknowledge that. Despite the tough dialogue, we remain strategic partners. But we need to be honest and direct with each other to truly understand our shared goals.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 1, 2025
Zelensky reaffirmed this stance in a post on X, where he said that maintaining US support was crucial, while emphasizing that Trump's support is crucial to Ukraine and emphasizing that Ukraine is ready to sign the minerals deal.
Kiev had reached an agreement with the United States on a minerals deal, which was supposed to be finalized during Zelensky's visit to the White House and pave the way toward a US-brokered peace deal with Russia.
