Zelensky says White House clash was ‘regrettable’
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his explosive Oval Office meeting with Donal Trump on Friday was “regrettable”, in his first public remarks since the US announced a pause in military aid to Kyiv.
“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be,” he wrote in a post on X.
Zelensky said “nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians” after Trump accused him of not being ready to come to the negotiating table.
Ukraine woke up to the news on Tuesday that the US was “pausing and reviewing” its military aid to the country after a breakdown in diplomacy last week.
In the lengthy social media postZelensky said that he and his team “stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts”.
“We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence,” he wrote.
“And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are grateful for this,” he added, referring to the US anti-tank missile system sold to Ukraine during Trump’s first administration.
During Friday’s meeting in the Oval Office, Vice-President JD Vance accused Zelensky of being ungrateful for the military support the US had provided.
“It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive,” Zelensky wrote.
The Oval Office meeting between Zelensky and US officials last week was due to conclude with the two parties signing a deal that would grant the US access to rare earth minerals in Ukraine.
After the clash, which saw Trump accuse Zelensky of “gambling with World War III”the Ukrainian delegation left without signing the deal – Trump told Zelensky “come back when you’re ready for peace”.
Zelensky had already signalled his desire to sign the minerals deal in the hours since the Friday bust up, and reiterated it in this most recent post.
“Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format,” he said.
“We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”
Trump himself has not commented on the pause to aid, nor Zelensky’s response, however he did berate the Ukrainian leader following Zelensky’s meetings with European allies at the weekend.
A Sunday summit – hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer – was intended as a show of support for Ukraine and an attempt to reduce differences between Western countries over Ukraine.
After the meeting, Zelensky said a deal to end the war between Ukraine and Russia was “still very, very far away”.
Trump described this as the “worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky”, in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing,” the president wrote.
In his latest statement, Zelensky appeared to make reference to a French idea about a one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine.
He wrote: “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.”
“Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal.”
