By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is ready to work under U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s “strong leadership” on peace talks with Russia and wants a minerals and security agreement with the United States.
His announcement, welcomed by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, came just days after the unprecedented public spat between him and U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
“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 get a peace that lasts,” Zelenskyy said in remarks on social media platform X.
In the remarks monitored by Worthy News, he added that “the first stages” toward peace “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.”
His words suggested at least a partial ceasefire. Zelenskyy did not mention whether the truce would extend to the front lines where trench-by-trench fighting resembles the horrors of World War One.
However, he pledged that soon after the truce, he mentioned, “We want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the U.S. to agree a strong final deal” with Russia.
Zelenskyy stressed that Ukrainians long for peace after a three-year war that broke out when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
THANKING AMERICA
“We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence,” he wrote. “And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are grateful for this,” he said, referring to the U.S.-made anti-tank system in service since 1996.
The president admitted that “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.”
However, he stressed that “It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.”
His words were music to the ears of JD Vance, who openly told Zelenskyy to show more respect to his boss, Donald J. Trump, and the United States.
Vance said Tuesday that the Trump administration would restart aid to Ukraine and formalize a framework mineral rights deal if Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and his team talk “privately” with the US about negotiating a peace accord. President Trump “wants the Ukrainians to come to the negotiating table,” Vance told reporters at the Capitol ahead of Trump’s address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress.
“I think the president is still committed to the mineral deal. I think we’ve heard some positive things, but not yet, of course, a signature from our friends in Ukraine,” Vance added, calling the agreement “important” to Trump.
Although no security guarantees are attached to the multi-billion dollar deal, the White House believes the minerals agreement would give Ukraine more security, as Americans will be involved in the search for rare earths.
The U.S. also views access to its rare earth reserves as a way to counter China’s dominance in the global supply chain.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
President Donald Trump abruptly canceled planned U.S. strikes against Iran on Thursday, saying a multinational agreement to end the conflict had been approved by top Iranian leadership and was awaiting final documents and a formal signing.
Federal authorities said Thursday they have accounted for 146,000 unaccompanied migrant children who entered the United States during former President Joe Biden’s administration, while roughly 300,000 minors remain unaccounted for, amid allegations that many vulnerable children were placed with fraudulent sponsors and exposed to abuse, labor exploitation, and sex trafficking.
Congress left Washington without renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, allowing a key foreign surveillance authority used to track foreign terrorists and national security threats to expire Friday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on June 11 temporarily allowed President Donald Trump’s 10 percent global tariffs to remain in effect, extending a pause on a lower court ruling that had struck down the duties as unlawful.
Dutch police detained a young man l man after four people, including three children, were killed when a car struck a group of cyclists during a school outing near the Belgian border on Thursday, officials said.
The leaders of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia are expected to meet this month amid growing debate within the European Union over how future member states should be admitted and monitored.
China has condemned the European Union’s ban on public funding for Chinese-made solar inverters, a move that analysts say could affect more than a fifth of new solar capacity and complicate efforts to meet the bloc’s self-imposed “climate targets.”