Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to work under Donald Trump’s “strong leadership” to achieve a lasting peace days after their explosive Oval Office meeting.
The Ukrainian president described the White House showdown as “regrettable” in a lengthy social media post in the wake of the US announcing a pause in military aid to Kyiv.
Zelensky said “it was time to make things right”, after Trump had accused him of not being ready to come to the negotiating table.
He also reiterated that Ukraine was ready to sign a minerals deal with the US, after the failure to do so at the Washington meeting, and outlined a proposal for how the war might stop.
Zelensky said Friday’s meeting “did not go the way it was supposed to be”, adding: “It is regrettable that it happened this way,” he wrote. “It is time to make things right. We would like future co-operation and communication to be constructive.”
Ukraine woke to the news on Tuesday that the US was “pausing and reviewing” its military aid to the country after a breakdown in diplomacy last week.
In his post, Zelensky offered an overt declaration of gratitude to the US.
“We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence,” he wrote.
“And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are grateful for this,” he added, referring to the US anti-tank missile system sold to Ukraine during Trump’s first administration.
Zelensky also reiterated that Ukraine was ready to sign a minerals deal with the US, after the failure to do so at the Washington meeting, and outlined a proposal for how the war might stop.
He wrote: “We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky – ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure – and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same.”
“Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal.”
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