Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy now says he’s ready to follow President Donald Trump’s leadership to quickly craft an end to the Russia-Ukraine war – and to sign the minerals deal with the U.S. he rejected Friday, which would have brought security to his war-torn country.
“My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts,” Pres. Zelenskyy announced on X.com Tuesday, the day after the U.S. stopped providing aid to his country’s fight against Russian aggression.
“We are ready to work fast to end the war,” Zelenskyy wrote, after declaring on Sunday that an end to the war was “very, very far away.”
“We want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal,” Zelenskyy reiterated.
Pres. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude and appreciation for America’s support, a matter of contention during his heated on-air confrontation with Trump on Friday. In his Tuesday post, Zelenskyy acknowledged that U.S. help is critical:
“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.”
Zelenskyy called it “regrettable” that Friday’s meeting, when he was supposed to sign the minerals-for-security deal (but didn’t, after his confrontation with Trump) “did not go the way it was supposed to.”
Now, Zelenskyy says he’s “ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format.”
After declaring that an end to the war with Russia was “very, very far away” on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday in a video message to his citizens that he’s seeking “the swiftest possible” peace – not “endless war.”
The basic scenario is to maintain positions and create conditions for proper diplomacy to achieve the swiftest possible end to this war with a just peace. We need peace, true and honest peace – not endless war. And security guarantees are essential.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 3, 2025
The absence of security… pic.twitter.com/fseIgc1Hdt
The full text of Zelenskyy’s Tuesday post is presented below:
“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 President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.
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.
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.
Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.
Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in 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.”