Following their tense encounter in the Oval Office, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Sunday that he thought he could save his relationship with US President Donald Trump, but that negotiations needed to take place behind closed doors. As part of a peace agreement, Zelenskyy reaffirmed that Ukraine would not cede any land to Russia. He described a conversation with European leaders on Sunday to deliver a draft peace plan to the US as a significant step and stated that he was still open to signing a minerals deal with the US. Trump questioned Washington’s continued backing in a special meeting that was streamed live on Friday, accusing Zelenskyy of disrespecting his nation, being ungrateful for US assistance, and threatening to start a third world war for Ukraine in its three-year-long war with Russia.
Following a conference with European leaders in London on Sunday, Zelenskyy addressed media at an airport in the city. The Ukrainian leader was cautious to strike a balance between his disappointment with Friday’s Oval Office meeting and his obvious wish to continue speaking with Washington, even as he appeared upbeat and praised European nations for their support. As “leaders of the civilized world,” Zelenskyy stated that he did not believe the United States would halt its aid to Ukraine because they would not like to support Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, he stated that he was still ready for any situation.
Following the London summit, Zelenskyy told reporters through a translator, “As regards salvaging the relationship, I think our relationship will continue.” However, he went on to say: “I don’t think it’s appropriate when these kinds of conversations are completely open…. I don’t believe that the structure of what transpired added anything beneficial or useful to our partnership. Arriving in London on Saturday, a clearly disturbed Zelenskyy was greeted by applauding supporters surrounding Downing Street and a warm embrace from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In the hopes that Washington would provide the security assurances Kyiv claims are essential to deterring Russia, Starmer said European leaders had decided to draft a peace plan for Ukraine to present to the US at the summit on Sunday.
Zelenskyy claimed that the United States was Ukraine’s main military supporter and that halting the arms supply would only benefit Putin. “The US are … leaders of the civilized world, and they will not help Putin,” he stated. Konstantin Kosachev, a powerful member of the Russian parliament, mocked the expectations on Sunday that Europe will step up and create a peace plan. “And if Ukraine should count on something, it can only be on progress (if there is any to come) in Russian-American relations,” he stated in a Telegram post. “We were prepared to sign it after agreeing to do so. In all honesty, I think the US would be prepared too,” he added. Trump has attempted to portray the minerals agreement as a means for Ukraine, which possesses a wealth of rare earth and lithium reserves, to reimburse the United States for the billions of dollars it has provided in help. Zelenskyy was more adamant about any future ceasefire agreement, stating that Ukraine will not cede sovereignty of seized Ukrainian territory to Russia, even if he attempted to avoid any additional hostility with the US by stating that he did not want to revisit what had transpired.
“Everyone needs to understand that Ukraine will never recognise whatever is occupied by Russia as Russian territories,” he stated. “We hope that these security guarantees will make it 100 per cent impossible to give Russia the opportunity to come with another aggression”. When asked if he had thought about resigning, Zelenskyy stated that there had been communication between Kyiv and Washington since Friday’s altercation, albeit not at his level. He did not appear to be hesitant. Regarding my resignation, it will be difficult to replace me since holding elections alone is insufficient. The situation would be a little more challenging if you had to stop me from voting.” A few Following his meeting with Trump on Friday, Zelenskyy was urged to step down by Republican leaders. But Zelenskyy reiterated that he would have achieved his goal if Ukraine were admitted to NATO.