OAN Staff Blake Wolf
10:55 AM – Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that the recent Friday meeting at the Oval Office in the White House was “regrettable,” adding that he’s now ready to work toward peace.
“My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to achieve a peace that lasts,” Zelensky wrote in a Tuesday post on social media, going on to say that the meeting “did not go the way it was supposed to.”
“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 achieve a peace that lasts,” Zelensky continued.
“We are ready to work quickly 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. We want to move very quickly through all the next stages and work with the US to agree a strong final deal.”
“We really do 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.”
Zelensky ended his lengthy post by asserting that Ukraine is ready to sign the previously proposed “minerals and security” deal.
“We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively,” Zelensky concluded.
Zelensky’s announcement follows after President Donald Trump paused all military aid to Ukraine after the back-and-forth arguments in the Oval Office on Friday.
The meeting on Friday between President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Zelensky was intended to end with an agreed upon minerals deal. The result of the meeting, however, ended instead with Zelensky attempting to yell over President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, asserting that the U.S. would eventually “feel the effects of the war” — seemingly threatening that the U.S. must continue its flow of aid.
Following the meeting, President Trump directed Zelensky to leave the White House without a deal being signed, adding that he can return “when he’s ready for peace.”
Meanwhile, following the contentious meeting, some European leaders have begun to coalesce in support of Ukraine or, at the very least, have articulated rhetoric signaling its fullest solidarity with the nation—albeit belatedly, given that the United States has already extended more aid than any other country globally.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, proposed a 30 day freeze on all strikes from the air and sea — as well as on energy infrastructure.
The month-long pause on strikes would theoretically provide a window to negotiate a more concrete peace deal with Moscow.
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