Ukraine seeks peace with Trump amid tensions over minerals
Kyiv is ready to sign a mineral agreement with the United States, reported Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. President Volodymyr Zelensky also made a conciliatory statement. These declarations came shortly after Donald Trump decided to suspend military support for Ukraine. Does this mean that Kyiv urgently wants to return to talks with the U.S. president and apologize?
Let's recall that the agreement was supposed to be signed last Friday, but due to the disagreement between Presidents Trump and Zelensky, the negotiations ended unsuccessfully.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal affirmed that Ukraine is committed to maintaining its cooperation with the United States at its current level. He stressed that American aid remains vital to Kyiv, playing a key role in saving thousands of lives. Despite the controversy at the White House, he confirmed that Kyiv is still prepared to sign a mineral agreement with the U.S. Just hours earlier, Trump had decided to halt military assistance to Ukraine. Unofficial sources indicate that he may be attempting to pressure Zelensky into issuing an apology for the incident on Friday.
Zelensky himself made a conciliatory statement. On Tuesday afternoon, he wrote, "none of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to sit at the negotiation table as soon as possible to achieve lasting peace. No one desires peace more than Ukrainians." He also pointed out areas from which negotiations could begin.
Why does Trump dislike Zelensky?
According to Mariusz Marszałkowski, an expert at Defence24.pl specializing in security and Eastern policy, there is still a clear disdain for Zelensky on the American side.
It existed during Trump's first term in the White House. The American president asked Zelensky to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of former American president Joe Biden. Zelensky refused, Trump lost the election in 2019, and the grudge remains to this day. It is further reinforced by Trump's advisors, who agitate the American president, Marszałkowski said in an interview.
The security expert stresses that the American president also wants to maintain good relations with Russia.
- Everything also suggests that Trump respects Putin. And Zelensky, at most, should be grateful to America and listen to what the U.S. president has to say. Apparently, someone is advising the American leader that the priority is not the war in Ukraine, but pulling Russia away from China - Marszałkowski assesses.
Trump wants to force Zelensky into an armistice on Washington's terms
According to the expert, Trump wants to compel Zelensky to sign a unilateral ceasefire. But the Ukrainian president does not want to agree to this and does not accept the role of obeying the American president's wishes - Marszałkowski emphasizes. This might explain his various initiatives, such as proposal agreements.
There was already a ceasefire in 2014, which Putin later violated with impunity. Today, Trump wants to force Zelensky into an armistice on Washington's terms because he sees the Ukrainian president as being in a weaker negotiating position. The raw materials agreement couldn't be signed on Friday, so now Trump is doing everything to enforce Ukraine's unconditional surrender, comments the Defence24 expert.
First minerals, now a ceasefire
Should Zelensky apologize to Trump? From the perspective of the presidency he holds, and because he cares about his country, personal resentment and pride must be set aside. If it would lead to further military aid from the U.S., he should apologize. However, it must be conditional. Neither Trump nor Zelensky should turn it into a spectacle - Marszałkowski assesses.
And as he emphasizes, he is skeptical about the realization of such a scenario. Trump was looking for an excuse to stop the aid. If Zelensky does not apologize, he will emphasize the need for greater support from European partners, the expert adds.
Marszałkowski notes that Ukraine, in seeking to sign an agreement, still speaks of a raw materials agreement.
In contrast, the Americans, including U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, say Washington now wants a ceasefire. No one in the U.S. talks about minerals or rare earth metals anymore. It seems that the White House would agree to sign an agreement, provided Zelensky apologizes to Trump for Friday's behavior and agrees to an immediate ceasefire. Zelensky’s reluctance to apologize and comply with U.S. conditions may stem from the fact that besides clauses on raw materials, the agreement includes provisions regarding the ceasefire. And Zelensky does not want to agree to these - Marszałkowski summarizes.
