Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday his country remained ready to sign a rare earth minerals deal with the United States, and that he believes he can salvage relations with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Speaking to reporters after a gathering of European leaders in Britain, Zelenskyy said he thinks the United States will also be ready to sign the minerals deal, but may “need time to analyze some things.”
The two sides had been expected to sign an agreement last week during a Zelenskyy visit to the White House, but the arrangement fell apart after acrimonious verbal exchanges during a meeting with Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
Zelenskyy said Sunday that Ukraine counts on U.S. aid in its fight against Russia’s three-year-old invasion.
“I think stopping such assistance will only help [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Zelenskyy said. “And because of that, I think that the United States and representatives of the civilized world, leaders of this world, definitely won't help Putin."
Trump cast Zelenskyy as ungrateful during their Friday meeting and has sought the minerals deal as a way to reimburse the United States for the billions of dollars in aid it has provided to Ukraine.
Trump has promoted the need to end the war, and has held a phone call with Putin in addition to senior U.S. officials meeting with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia to discuss a potential peace deal without Ukrainian officials involved in the talks.
"We should spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time worrying about migrant rape gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our Country - So that we don't end up like Europe!" Trump posted Sunday on his Truth Social platform.
That followed the talks Sunday in London during which British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told 18 allies that with the United States wavering in its support for Ukraine, Europe finds itself "at a crossroads in history.”
"This is not a moment for more talk — it's time to act. It's time to step up and lead and unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace," Starmer said.
The British leader said that with no guarantee of U.S. involvement to act as a support backup for would-be peacekeeping forces, "Europe must do the heavy lifting" in securing peace in Ukraine. He said there was a “coalition of the willing” ready to help defend any truce.
Meanwhile, Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Waltz, speaking about Zelenskyy, told CNN’s “State of the Union” show Sunday, “What was not clear to us was whether he shared our goal of ending this war. It was not clear he was ready to go to peace.”
Unlike in Washington, Zelenskyy was warmly embraced at the summit by many of the European heads of state, along with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NATO chief Mark Rutte. Zelenskyy supporters rallied outside Starmer’s residence in support of Ukraine.
As the leaders gathered Sunday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned, "We urgently have to rearm Europe" and "prepare for the worst" on the continent.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, called for the United States and Europe to "speak with one voice" in showing Russian President Vladimir Putin "that the West has no intention of capitulating before his blackmail and aggression.”
In addition to attending the security summit, Zelenskyy met with King Charles at his Sandringham estate in England.
Starmer, when he first greeted Zelenskyy on Saturday, unveiled a $2.84 billion loan agreement to support Ukraine's defense capabilities, to be paid back with the profits of immobilized sovereign Russian assets.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday the funding deal will allow for “the continuation of hostilities.”
Peskov also said Zelenskyy was not interested in peace and that someone “must make Zelenskyy want peace.”
That followed comments Sunday in which Peskov said the United States' dramatic shift in Europe foreign policy toward Russia is largely aligned with Moscow's vision.
"The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Russian state television that was recorded last Wednesday.
No peace negotiations are scheduled.
Trump national security adviser Waltz said that eventually Russia and Ukraine will have to make negotiating concessions to reach a peace deal. “There will be all kinds of carrots and sticks to get this done,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also stressed the importance of both sides coming to the negotiating table.
"We are trying to end a war,” Rubio said. “You cannot end a war unless both sides come to the table, starting with the Russians. And that is the point the president has made.”
“I'm not promising you it's possible,” he added. “I'm not telling you it's 90% likely. I'm saying it's 0% likely if we don't get them to a negotiating table. And the sooner everyone grows up around here and figures out that this is a bad war that's heading in a bad direction with death and destruction and all kinds of danger surrounding it that could spiral into a broader conflict, the sooner people grow up and realize that I think the more progress we're going to be able to make."
Starmer said Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States. Some European countries have said they are willing to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to help enforce a would-be peace agreement but need the U.S. to provide backup military support to confront Russia in the event Putin agrees to a ceasefire and then violates it or launches a new invasion.
Trump has rejected sending such U.S. support and said he trusts Putin to honor any settlement of the war that he agrees to.
Starmer said he does not trust Putin but does trust Trump.
“Do I believe Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that is yes,” he said.
Starmer said there are “intense discussions” to get a security guarantee from the U.S. as one of several components for a lasting peace.
“If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then Putin comes again,” Starmer said. “That has happened in the past, I think it is a real risk, and that is why we must ensure that if there’s a deal, it is a lasting deal, not a temporary pause.”
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
