New Delhi: Less than a day after US President Donald Trump suspended military aid to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy relented Tuesday, agreeing to come to the “negotiating table” for peace as early as possible, as well as signing the minerals deal at any time.
“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,” said Zelenskyy in a post on the social media platform X.
Days earlier on Sunday, Zelenskyy warned that the peace with Russia is “very, very far away”. The comments were slammed by Trump late Monday evening, after the US paused transferring roughly $1 billion in arms and ammunition to Kyiv. Washington’s military aid has been key to Ukraine’s defence, and ensuring the country has been able to continue to fight the Russians over the past 3 years.
Zelenskyy offered what the Ukrainian administration is open to working with Trump for a ceasefire, including the exchange of prisoners, truce in the sky and a ban on the usage of missiles, long-ranged drones, and dropping bombs on civilian infrastructure.
The suspension of military aid by the US administration comes at a critical moment in the 3-year long war, as Russia presses to capture more territories in Eastern Ukraine. Trump is said to have informed his administration to pause military aid until Zelenskyy is willing to end the war.
“Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at 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,” added the Ukrainian President.
Trump has been pushing for a minerals security agreement as “payback” by Ukraine for the roughly $180 billion in aid that the US has supported the Eastern European nation with since February 2022.
The agreement was expected to be signed last Friday, however, was not after the disastrous meeting in the oval office between Zelenskyy, Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance. The American leadership believed that the Ukrainian President was not properly appreciative of US’s aid to Ukraine and in particular to Trump allowing the sale of Javelin missiles to Kyiv.
“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,” said Zelenskyy in his statement, in reference to the particular issues raised by Vance during the Oval Office meeting.
The Ukrainian President further regretted the way the meeting went, saying that “it is time to make things right,” to ensure that any future communication is “constructive”.
The Europeans have been backing Kyiv, with a summit of European leaders meeting in London including from France, the UK and the European Union (EU). All of them pledged more support to Ukraine.
Earlier Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed mobilising EUR 800 billion in defence spending by the EU member-states, following the churn in the trans-Atlantic partnership since Trump was inaugurated in January.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also read: Hours after Oval Office spat, Zelenskyy says ‘grateful’ to US, quotes Trump’s favourite ex-president