March 5 (UPI) — President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine called last week’s heated Oval Office argument with U.S. President Donald Trump “regrettable” as he offered conditions for peace negotiations, stating Ukraine is “ready” to begin work to end the war with Russia.
Zelensky issued the overture in a statement on X on Tuesday, offering terms to move toward an end to the three-year-old war.
“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,” he said.
“Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the U.S. to agree a strong final deal.”
The statement was issued after an argument erupted between Zelensky, Trump and Vice President JD Vance during a Friday afternoon joint press conference in the Oval Office.
Trump, who campaigned on an isolationist agenda and had said he would end the war in 24 hours if elected, has steered the United States in a dramatic shift away from the Biden administration’s staunch support for Ukraine.
The Trump administration has said Ukraine should not expect to regain its pre-2014 borders and that any peace deal with Russia will not include its accession to NATO, a goal Kyiv has been working toward for a decade. Trump and his allies have also spread misinformation about the conflict.
Trump has attracted criticism for capitulating to Russia and has sparked concerns in Europe that the United States is no longer an ally it could depend on to fight to maintain the international order. In his defense, Trump has said he is seeking peace.
Tensions between the Ukrainian and American leaders exploded on Friday, after Vance described Trump’s actions as an attempt to pursue diplomacy.
The Ukrainian leader pointed out to the American leaders that Russian President Vladimir Putin has violated previous diplomatic agreements over the past decade, none of which prevented Russia’s full-scale invasion of Feb. 24, 2022.
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you speaking about? What do you mean?”
The exchange escalated when Vance accused Zelensky of being disrespectful and said he should be “thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”
Trump then told Zelensky that “he wasn’t in a good position.”
“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people,” Trump said. “You’re gambling with World War III. What you’re doing is disrespectful to the country, this country.”
On Monday, Trump issued a pause on all military aid to Ukraine.
In his statement Tuesday, Zelensky said the meeting in Washington “did not go the way it was supposed to be.”
“It is regrettable that it happened this way,” he said. “It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.”
During his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, said he received “an important letter” from Ukraine, reiterating what Zelensky had stated in the post on X.
Trump said he has also been in “serious discussions” with Russia and that they had shared “strong signals that they are ready for peace.”
“Wouldn’t that be beautiful?” he said. “It’s time to stop this madness. It’s time to halt the killing. It’s time to end this senseless war.”
