Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has offered a olive branch to his US counterpart Donald Trump, describing their fiery Oval Office meeting last week as “regrettable”.
The Australian government, along with senior government officials, are considering a peace agreement with Russia.
By Tuesday, Mr Trump stated he was putting all aid to Ukraine on hold, with Ukraine being embroiled in a protracted conflict with Russia for over three years.
In a statement posted to social media on Tuesday, local time, Mr Zelenskyy said it was “time to make things right” and that he was keen to work under Mr Trump’s “strong leadership”.
“Our meet in Washington, at the White House on the arvo, didn’t go to plan,” the post read.
The Ukrainian president also said his country was:
- I don’t see any text to paraphrase. Please provide the text, and I’ll be happy to assist.
- We appreciate the efforts “America has made to assist Ukraine in preserving its sovereignty and self-governance”
- And, keen to “work quickly” to end the conflict.
On a post on social media platform X, Mr Zelenskyy said “none of us want an endless war”.
Ukraine is prepared to sit down at the negotiating table as soon as possible to make lasting peace a reality, the post said.
No one wants peace more than Ukrainians, I suppose. My team and I are prepared to work under President Trump’s robust leadership to achieve a lasting peace.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US has been a significant contributor to Ukraine’s military and aid efforts.
However, relations have gone downhill since Mr Trump returned to the White House earlier this year.
Last month, the US president referred to Mr Zelenskyy as a “dictator” in a social media post, and has several times repeated the false claim that Ukraine was responsible for initiating the war.
During his campaign, Mr Trump claimed he could end the conflict in “one day” and since taking office, he has re-established diplomatic relations with Moscow.
He’s had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and they’ve talked about having a few face-to-face meetings.
The US president’s decision to overhaul decades of US foreign policy and draw his country closer to the Kremlin has been strongly criticised by Ukraine, and America’s NATO allies.
However, they’ve been received with open arms in Moscow.
Earlier this week, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the US president’s decision to alter foreign policy “largely aligns” with Russia’s perspective and that the sudden change was previously “unthinkable.”
That’s dismayed many European leaders, who’ve also been strong supporters of Ukraine and pointed out that Russia is the aggressor in the conflict, which is estimated to have claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people on both sides.
On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a plan to borrow $254 billion to help EU countries upgrade their military capabilities.
It’s part of a bigger plan, worth up to €800 billion, to help boost military preparedness amid concerns the US might pull out of the region altogether.
“We’re living in a really significant and precarious period,” Ms von der Leyen said.
We’re in an age of military build-up. And Europe’s about to significantly increase its defence budget.
Several countries, including the UK, France and Australia, have already suggested they could send troops to Ukraine if a peace agreement is reached, in a bid to prevent future Russian invasions.
