Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has agreed to return to the negotiating table under U.S. mediation. In a lengthy X post, the president said he was ready to sign the U.S. mineral deal “any time” after previously rejecting it, while also thanking President Donald Trump for his peace efforts and calling the weekend spat in the White House “regrettable.”
“Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer,” Zelensky said, adding that the first stages could involve large-scale prisoner swaps and immediate ceasefire, at least in the air and on the sea. Ukraine is also ready to sign the abandoned mineral agreement in exchange for continued U.S. support at “any time and in any convenient format.”
Moreover, the Ukrainian president expressed his ‘gratitude’ to President Trump for all he has done for Ukraine and said it was “regrettable” how the talks turned out in the Oval Office last Friday. “It is time to make things right,” he added.
I would like to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to peace.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 4, 2025
None of us wants an endless war. 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…
This U-turn came less than 24 hours after President Trump suspended the delivery of all U.S. military aid to Ukraine, a move that drew widespread condemnation among Western leaders who have been scrambling to take charge of the ‘free world’ and offer an alternative alliance to Zelensky to help him continue the war since the London summit on Sunday.
Yet, it seems Europe once again miscalculated both its own strength and Trump’s influence. One step back from Trump was enough to put Kyiv back on course for a negotiated settlement and make Zelensky abandon Europe’s unrealistic ‘peace through strength’ approach, despite all the virtue-signaling talk of continued military aid and Western troops on the ground.
The truth is that Europe does not have the strength to back up its words, and whatever they think of Trump’s unorthodox ways to exert pressure, they work. The prospect of peace is once again at hand, and no thanks to Brussels, Paris, or London, who refuse to accept that their approach would have only prolonged the bloodshed with little benefit for anyone.
The fact that Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó was received yesterday by U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio in Washington, D.C., while EU High Representative Kaja Kallas was snubbed last week, is also indicative of the American disapproval of the course the EU leadership insists on regarding the war.
To compound the situation, Emmanuel Macron announced on X this morning that he was going to speak to the French nation at 8 p.m. today. The French president did not specify what he would be speaking about, only said the remarks come in “these times of great uncertainty.”
Mes chers compatriotes,
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) March 5, 2025
Dans ce moment de grande incertitude, où le monde est confronté à ses plus grands défis, je m’adresserai à vous ce soir à 20h.
It’s also worth noting that Trump’s strategy is not only supported by the reality on the ground but also by the majority of Americans. The latest poll shows that 78% of American voters support a negotiated peace deal to end the war in Ukraine now, as opposed to only 16% who would rather help Ukraine continue the war.
Simultaneously, Trump also claimed during his speech before Congress on Tuesday night that he had “serious discussions” with Moscow and that Russia was also ready to begin peace negotiations.
Despite all this, Europe is still trying to appear as if it is in charge of the process as leaders prepare for the emergency EU Council summit on Thursday, to which UK prime minister Keir Starmer is also invited.
There is a vague consensus among member states that Europe needs to significantly ramp up its defense capabilities, especially as they prepare to discuss the EU Commission’s giant €800 billion “ReArm Europe” scheme, unveiled on Tuesday. However, there are still disagreements about what to do with Ukraine, even among France and Britain, who try to pose as the leaders of the post-Trump West.
On Tuesday, we reported that the Council negotiators quietly removed the endorsement of the Commission’s proposed €20 billion military aid package from the draft resolution due to a lack of unanimous support. This aid was meant to be in addition to the €60 billion in financial assistance the EU is already providing this year. Officially, this is being blamed on Hungary and Slovakia, which openly said they would veto the statement if the reference remained, but sources revealed many other member states—including France—were also against this new tranche, just afraid of opposing it publicly.
On Wednesday, Politico reported that a reference to the aid package was added back in the newest version of the text, but instead of endorsement, the document would only pass the issue to the level of ministers where it could be more easily adopted. It remains to be seen whether this version will be vetoed or allowed to pass on Thursday.
