On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his Oval Office meeting that ended in an argument with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance was “regrettable” and suggested potential steps toward peace with Russia after the Trump administration paused all military aid to Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials have said they believe their military stockpiles will only last six months without continued US military aid. US officials speaking to the media about the aid pause said it would remain in place until Ukrainian leadership demonstrated that it was ready to work toward peace. Zelensky insisted on Tuesday that he didn’t want “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,” Zelensky wrote on X.
The Ukrainian leader suggested the first steps of a deal with Russia could involve a ban on long-range attacks, the bombing of energy infrastructure, and attacks at sea.
“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,” he said.
Zelensky said that after those initial steps, Ukraine would “want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal.”
Zelensky also expressed gratitude for previous US support and thanked President Trump for supplying Ukraine with Javelin anti-tank missiles during his first term, a step that marked a significant escalation of US support for the Ukrainian military at the time.
Regarding the blow-up in the Oval Office, Zelensky said, “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.”
The Ukrainian leader also said he was ready to sign the deal on Ukraine’s minerals and other natural resources. President Trump was ready to ink the deal the day of the Oval Office meeting but kicked Zelensky out of the White House after the spat.
In a video address, Zelensky insisted that Ukraine could defend itself without US support but said a good relationship with the US was needed to end the war. “This is not 2022 anymore. Our resilience is stronger now. We have the means to defend ourselves. But for us, maintaining normal, partnership-based relations with America is essential to bringing the war to a real end,” he said.
