Days After White House Clash, Zelensky's "Strong Leader" Praise For Trump

A day after the United States suspended supplies of military aid to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday proposed a possible peace plan to end the war with Russia, saying he was willing to work "constructively" under "strong leadership" of US President Donald Trump. In an extraordinary turnaround, Zelensky also indicated he was ready to sign a deal giving the US access to Ukraine's mineral wealth.

The Ukrainian leader traveled to Washington on Friday to sign the deal, but it was put on hold after a contentious Oval Office meeting between Trump and  Zelensky that resulted in the latter's swift departure from the White House. 

On Tuesday, Zelensky said he was "ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible", called the Oval Office meeting "regrettable."

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…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 4, 2025

"Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be,"  Zelensky said in his post on X. 

"Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer," he added.

But the Ukrainian's conciliatory comments appear to fall short of the grovelling apology demanded by the White House. The American President has accused Zelensky of disrespect, and Trump's aides have claimed the Ukrainian leader had provoked the row by insisting any peace deal had to come with security guarantees.

It was unclear if the deal had been changed since last Friday. The deal that was to be signed last week included no explicit security guarantees for Ukraine but gave the US access to revenues from Ukraine's natural resources. It also envisaged the Ukrainian government contributing 50 per cent of future monetization of any state-owned natural resources to an America-Ukraine managed reconstruction investment fund.

The olive branch from Ukraine came after Trump on Monday signaled that his administration remained open to signing the deal, telling reporters in a gaggle that Ukraine "should be more appreciative."

"This country has stuck with them through thick and thin," Trump said. "We've given them much more than Europe, and Europe should have given more than us."

Moreover, Reuters reported that the American President had told his advisers that he wanted to announce the agreement in his address to Congress on Tuesday evening. However, the deal had yet to be signed and the situation could change.

So far, neither the White House, nor Ukraine's presidential administration in Kyiv and the Ukrainian embassy in Washington comment on the matter. 

Meanwhile, France, Britain and possibly other European countries have offered to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire but would want support from the US or a "backstop." Moscow has rejected proposals for peacekeeping troops.