Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday he was ready to come to the negotiating table to begin peace talks and expressed regret over last week’s meeting at the White House where he sparred with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance and blew a minerals deal with the U.S.
Zelensky wrote on X:
I would like to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to peace.
None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.
The tone was very different than the last 10 minutes of the meeting in the Oval Office with Trump, Vance, and other members of the cabinet who have worked to get Russia and Ukraine into peace talks, beginning with a U.S.-Ukraine mineral deal.
The meeting began amicably and went on for about 40 minutes without issue, until a Polish reporter asked Trump about being “close” to Putin. Trump initially responded, and Vance jumped in with a response, and then Zelensky challenged Vance.
Zelensky issued a warning that the U.S. would “feel it” if it did not provide security to Ukraine, prompting Trump to jump in. The discussion quickly turned into a row, with Trump booting Zelensky from the White House without a minerals deal meant to give the U.S. access to critical minerals in Ukraine in exchange for economic and possibly military aid.
Trump argued that Zelensky was not ready to negotiate for peace.
In his post, Zelensky said, “We are ready to work fast to end the war,” and laid out possible first steps — the release of prisoners, and an air and sea ceasefire.
“Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal,” Zelensky added.
He then expressed gratitude to the U.S., and Trump personally, and expressed regret for the way the Oval Office meeting went.
“We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are grateful for this.
“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive,” he said.
He said “regarding the agreement on minerals and security” that “Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format. We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”
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