The president of the United States, Donald Trump, said he received a letter from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which he told him that Ukraine is willing to sit at the negotiating table to discuss the end of the three -year war with Russia.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, said Tuesday night that he received a letter from the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which he told him that Ukraine is willing to sit at the negotiating table to discuss the end of the three -year war of Russia against Ukraine.
“Wouldn't it be beautiful?” Trump said in a speech before the United States Congress. “It's time to stop this madness. It's time to stop the killing. It's time to put an end to this meaningless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both parties.”
His description of the letter coincided with what Zelenskyy published earlier that day on social networks, saying that Ukraine was ready to negotiate “as soon as possible” and that “would work under” the “strong leadership” of Trump to reach a peace agreement.
Zelenskyy said that his controversial encounter with Trump at the White House last Friday was “unfortunate” and that he is still willing to sign an agreement that would give the United States substantial rights and long term on rare land minerals of Ukraine necessary for US manufacturing of technological products.
In an X publication, the Ukrainian leader said that his conversations with Trump and vice president JD Vance “did not come out as they were supposed to be. It's time to do things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive. ”
Trump asked Zelenskyy to leave the White House, and the agreement on the minerals was without signing.
Trump and Vance, sitting close to the other in the Oval office, attacked Zelenskyy for being displeased by the more than 100,000 million dollars in ammunition that the United States has sent to kyiv's forces to defend against Moscow's invasion in 2022, despite the fact that the Ukrainian leader had grateful to the United States numerous occasions.
“We really value how much the United States has done to help Ukraine maintain their sovereignty and independence,” said Zelenskyy on Tuesday. “And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine Javelins,” a anti -tank missile weapons system. “We are grateful for this.”
“I want to reiterate Ukraine's commitment to peace,” said Zelenskyy. “None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to sit at the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring a lasting peace. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians. ”
Vance said to VOA on Tuesday: “We believe it is in Russia's best interest, but also in the best interest in Ukraine and the United States, end this conflict.”
Zelenskyy said that the first stage of any truce in the fighting “could be the release of prisoners (Russians and Ukrainians) (which each country maintains) and a truce in the sky (missile prohibition, long -range drones, energy pumps and other civil infrastructure) and a truce in the sea immediately, if Russia does the same.”
“Then we want to advance very fast through all the following stages and work with the United States to agree on a solid final agreement,” he said.
But reaching a peace agreement could be difficult. Ukraine has been demanding the restoration of its internationally recognized borders since 2014, before Moscow seized the Crimean Peninsula. In total, Russia now controls around a fifth of the Ukrainian territory, including much of East Ukraine, and has promised not to return anything from that territory to the kyiv government.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has said that the United States and its allies in Europe must provide security to Ukraine to be protected against another Russian invasion, even if Moscow agrees to stop terrestrial fighting and end their daily air bombings on Ukraine.
Great Britain, France and “a coalition of the willing” of other European countries agreed last weekend to send troops for a peace maintenance mission in Ukraine to support a high fire, but Trump has refused to compromise the United States to provide military backing to enforce a truce against a greater Russian aggression.
Zelenskyy's statement occurred hours after Trump stopped military aid to Ukraine.
“The president has been clear that he is focused on peace,” said a senior administration official to VOA in an email. “We need our partners to also commit to that goal. We are pausing and reviewing our help to make sure it is contributing to a solution. ”
Zelenskyy said in his night speech on Monday that his country needs a “real and fair peace”, as well as security guarantees to ensure that Russia does not threaten Ukraine again in the future.
“It was precisely the lack of security guarantees for Ukraine 11 years ago that allowed Russia to begin the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbas,” said Zelenskyy. “Then, the absence of security guarantees allowed Russia to launch a large -scale invasion. And now, as there are still no defined security guarantees, it is Russia that maintains this war in progress. ”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Tuesday that the suspension of US military aid to Ukraine is the best contribution to the cause of peace and that he could help boost Ukraine to participate in a peace process.
Kateryna Lisunova de la VOA contributed to this report. The Associated Press, Agance France-Presse and Reuters provided part of the information.