Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with his US counterpart Donald Trump Photo: AP Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with his US counterpart Donald Trump Photo: AP

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, unceremoniously thrown out of the White House after a verbal shoot-out with US President Donald Trump last weektop993, has got a reprieve.  Ukraine is ready to sign the agreement on the rare minerals deal, which was the reason Zelenskyy was in the Oval Office in the first place. Once the deal is signed and sealed and the Trump administration suitably mollified the process of trying to end the Ukraine war will get underway.

 Having rubbed Trump the wrong way, Zelenskyy sent out a public apology on X. "Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be,” he wrote; "It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right.” He also massaged Trump’s ego by praising the equipment sent to Ukraine during Trump’s first tenure--“the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins,” he said.

In a letter to the US leader, Zelenskyy also praised Trump’s ``strong ‘’ leadership and indicated that he wanted an end to war and was also ready to sign the minerals agreement. Trump disclosed this in a long rambling address to the joint session of the US Congress.

“Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine,”  Trump told lawmakers.  “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians.” “My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts,” Trump quoted Zelenskyy as writing; “We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence.” Trump was clearly mollified and he said in his address that he "appreciated’’ Zelenskyy’s statement.

The US administration had put enormous pressure on Ukraine for the U-turn by Zelenskyy, including a pause in military supplies essential to continue the war against Russia.

The US President, who had railed against Zelenskyy after Friday’s fiasco saying he was not interested in ending the war, signalled that peace moves are on. Having spoken to Vladimir Putin on the phone, and after senior US and Russian officials met in Riyadh, Trump is convinced that Moscow is willing to talk peace.

``…We’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace,” Trump said in his address. Taking on critics who said that America had thrown Ukraine’s interests under the bus by first holding discussions with Russia and echoing the Kremlin’s position on the war, Trump said: “It’s time to stop this madness. It’s time to halt the killing. It’s time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars you have to talk to both sides.”

Trump’s softening of stand comes as a massive relief  not just for  Zelenskyy but for Europe’s leaders worried that the US was turning  away from Ukraine.

Take a look at the note shared by Saira Banu on her Instagram Stories.

For Zelenskyy, the relief at salvaging the situation must be enormous. The stand up comedian,fef777 Cassinos ao Vivo Brasil actor and screen writer had entered politics through entertainment. His production company produced a comic show called the Servant of the People in 2015, where he played the role of president of Ukraine for three years running. From reel life, he stepped into the political arene and took a shot at the presidency  in the 2019 elections. He won with a thumping majority, garnering 70 per cent of the votes. Since then his political career had soared, more so after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. As war-time president, he was given lavish and generous coverage by the Western media as a small man standing up to Vladimir Putin. He has not looked back since. US president Joe Biden, a long time adversary of Putin, embraced him, and so did European leaders. As the designated hero figure, his manner while demanding money and arms from the US and Europeans was often abrasive. He felt that Ukraine was fighting for democracy and Western values and was entitled to get their support. Biden, it now appears, was also put off by Zelenskyy’s manner. But the world was willing to overlook his lapses.

When the President took time off in July 2022, to pose for pictures for a Vogue cover story on his wife, while war was raging in the country, many people were shocked. Why pose for a glossy fashion magazine at a time when soldiers were dying on the frontlines and his people were being forced to flee the country? But it was not the time to put down the Ukrainian president and the media more or less let it pass.

He had become accustomed to being feted and lauded  by European and American leaders. So the treatment he received in the White House by Trump and Vance came as a shock. Zelenskyy was angry as he was not prepared for such an ambush. He possibly thought the rules that guided other leaders did not apply to him.

Other world leaders who visited the White House before him, including  Jordan’s King Abdullah, India’s Narendra Modi, Britain’s Keir Starmer or France’s Emmanuel Macron, did their homework and were careful not to cross Trump publicly. The US President has a massive ego and does not like to be questioned publicly. Zelensky’s overreach in Washington cost him dearly.

Immediately after the heated exchange in the White House, Trump loyalists were on television talk shows to say that Zelenskyy does not want peace.

It is not as if he wants to continue the war indefinitely but he wants to begin peace talks from a position of strength. He is also desperate to get a security guarantee from the US.

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Zelenskyy’s idea was to begin negotiations with Russia from a position of strength; that istop993, at a time when it has a military advantage over Russia. Zelenskyy believes once his forces get more sophisticated equipment they would be able to push back the Russians from much of its territory. The US is in no mood to waste more tax payers money on the Ukraine war and wants a ceasefire and negotiations to begin quickly.