US president Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Ukraine鈥檚 leader Volodymyr Zelensky has told him Kyiv was ready for talks with Russia and the finalisation of a US minerals deal, days after the pair鈥檚 explosive White House meeting.
The dramatic collapse of Kyiv and Washington鈥檚 wartime alliance has played out in the open since the televised dispute in the Oval Office last week, followed by Ukraine鈥檚 top ally suspending crucial聽 military aid.
Zelensky has since sought to bring Trump back onside, posting on social media that their clash was 鈥榬egrettable鈥� and he wanted 鈥榯o make things right鈥�.
In his address to US Congress later on Tuesday, Trump read aloud from a letter he said he recently received from Zelensky, which matched the social media statement.
鈥楾he letter reads, 鈥楿kraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians,鈥� Trump told US lawmakers in his first address since returning to office.
鈥榃e do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence.鈥欌��
Addressing Congress, Trump added that, 鈥榬egarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you.鈥�
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, has meanwhile offered to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
鈥楾ell Trump that I expect him here with Putin and Zelensky,鈥� Lukashenko proposed to the three leaders in a video interview with US blogger Mario Nawfal, reported by state news agency Belta on Wednesday.
鈥榃e are going to sit down and calmly make an accord,鈥� said Lukashenko, adding there had to be a deal with Zelensky 鈥榮ince a large part of Ukrainian society is with him鈥�.
In the Oval Office on Friday, vice president JD Vance accused Zelensky of being ungrateful for US assistance and Trump berated the wartime leader as not having 鈥榗ards鈥� to play.
Zelensky left without signing an agreement pushed by Trump for the United States to secure control over Ukrainian mineral resources.
While Trump was expected to use Tuesday鈥檚 speech to lay out a plan for the Ukraine war, he did not further detail how he envisages ending the grueling three-year conflict.
He did say he had engaged in 鈥榮erious discussions with Russia鈥�.
Trump鈥檚 rapprochement with Moscow and decision on Monday to halt military assistance to Kyiv has stunned allies.
Like Ukraine, the European Union has been excluded from US-Russian negotiations towards a potential truce, prompting fears any deal proposed would be on Moscow鈥檚 terms.
Moscow, which has hailed Trump鈥檚 decision to halt assistance to Ukraine as a 鈥榮olution which could really push the Kyiv regime to a peace process,鈥� said Wednesday news that Zelensky was ready for peace talks was 鈥榩ositive鈥�.
The US pause impacts hundreds of millions of dollars of weaponry in the process of being sent to Ukraine, The New York Times reported.
Ordinary Ukrainians speaking to AFP were shocked at what they viewed as a betrayal by Trump.
鈥業t鈥檚 like a stab in the back,鈥� a 33-year-old financial assistant in Kyiv who gave only her first name, Sofia, said.
Trump 鈥榳ants Ukraine鈥檚 surrender, the deaths of our people, the surrender of our territories,鈥� army volunteer Sergiy Sternenko said on Telegram.
Poland鈥檚 government noted that Washington鈥檚 decision was made without consulting NATO allies, and said the impact was already being felt.
French prime minister Francois Bayrou told lawmakers in Paris that 鈥榚ntire trains鈥� carrying US supplies for Ukraine 鈥榓re being stopped and prevented from reaching their destination鈥�.
Last week, Zelensky had travelled to Washington expecting to sign a US-Ukrainian deal for the joint exploitation of Ukraine鈥檚 vast mineral resources, as part of a post-war recovery in a US-brokered peace deal.
The proposal was to give Washington financial benefits for helping Ukraine in a truce, even if Trump has repeatedly refused to commit any US military force as a back-up to European troops who might act as peacekeepers.
After the fiery Oval Office exchange, Zelensky was asked to leave.
On Tuesday, Zelensky said that Kyiv remained ready to sign the deal at 鈥榓ny time and in any convenient format鈥�.
Ukraine is also seeking tough security guarantees for an end to the war.
After weekend crisis talks in London, Britain and France are investigating how to propose a one-month Ukraine-Russia truce 鈥� potentially backstopped by troops on the ground.
Vance, in an interview with Fox News on Monday, mocked the idea of 鈥榮ome random country that has not fought a war in 30 or 40 years鈥� sending soldiers to Ukraine. That prompted angry responses from French and British politicians.
Vance insisted Tuesday he had not mentioned France or Britain, and said both had 鈥榝ought bravely鈥� alongside the United States over the past two decades.
