Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has extended an olive branch to President Donald Trump and said he “regrets” last week’s showdown in the Oval Office.
“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,” Zelensky said in a post on X Tuesday. “It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.”
Zelensky said he was ready to work under Trump’s “strong leadership” to get a peace deal in the social media post.
“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,” Zelensky wrote. “Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal.”
The meeting at the White House between Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and the Ukrainian leader escalated into a shouting match in front of the press.
The meeting appeared to turn contentious when Vance suggested Trump had been “engaging in diplomacy” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a comment Zelensky took issue with, noting the years-long history of peace deals that Russia violated. He then pressed the vice president: “What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you talking about. What do you mean?”
Vance then accused the Ukrainian president of being “disrespectful” for coming to the Oval Office to “try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
That’s when Zelensky asked if the vice president had ever been to Ukraine, insisted he visit.
Vance didn’t directly say he’s never set foot the war-torn country, but instead replied: “I've actually watched and seen the stories and I know what happens is you bring people, you bring them on a propaganda tour, Mr. President.”
Trump later suggested: “You're right now, not in a very good position. You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now with us.”
Zelensky pushed back: “I’m not playing cards right now, I’m very serious Mr. President. I am a wartime president.”
The now-infamous meeting took place three years after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Following the contentious meeting, the scheduled joint press conference was canceled and the minerals deal was called off, with Trump writing on Truth Social that Zelensky “is not ready for Peace...He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
Hours later, appearing on Fox News, the Ukrainian president underscored he believed his relationship with Trump could still be salvaged. “It’s more than two presidents. The historical relations, strong relations, between our people.”
“This is the most important—and of course [we’re] thankful to the president and to Congress—but first of all to your people,” Zelensky continued. “Your people helped to save our people.”
Days later, Trump escalated the situation further when he announced Monday that the U.S. would temporarily pause more than $1 billion in arms and ammunition for Ukraine that has been ordered or is in the production process.
The president hit out at the Ukrainian leader after he told reporters in London over the weekend that a deal to end the war “is still very, very far away.”
But Trump did not agree, writing on Truth Social that Zelensky’s words represent “the worst statement that could have been made” by the Ukrainian leader.
He also said that Zelensky “should be more appreciative” because America has “stuck with them through thick and thin.”
