President Donald Trump said that Vladimir Putin has sent ‘strong signals’ he is ready for a Ukraine peace deal during a fiery address to Congress on Tuesday night.
In a marathon 100-minute speech Trump also said Volodymyr Zelensky had written to him following their recent Oval Office showdown, and that the Ukrainian leader was ready to return to the negotiating table.
Trump said he ‘appreciated’ Zelensky’s response, urged him to ink a deal allowing U.S. companies to extract rare earth minerals from his country, and accused European countries of spending more money on Russian oil than helping Ukraine.
The president, in a wide-ranging speech, also heaped praise on Elon Musk’s DOGE and blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for a litany of problems facing America.
DONALD TRUMP’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS AFTER 42 DAYS IN OFFICE
He listed his accomplishments so far from 42 days in office, vowed the U.S. would be ‘woke no longer,’ and doubled down on his plan to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports.
Trump also reupped his plans to take over the Panama Canal, but appeared to change his tune on the U.S. buying Greenland by insisting its fate was up to the people who live there.
The U.S.-Ukraine relationship had been on the brink of collapse after Trump’s angry meeting with Zelensky last Friday, and the U.S. President’s subsequent decision to pause military aid to Ukraine.
The dust-up also risked killing off a deal that the U.S. and Ukraine were supposed to sign on rare earth minerals.
In his speech to Congress, Trump said he was skeptical of America sending ‘billions of dollars’ to Kyiv and asked if Democrats wanted the war to ‘keep going for another five years’.
‘Wouldn’t that be beautiful?’ Trump said sarcastically. ‘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 said he had been in ‘serious discussions with Russia’ and had ‘received strong signals that they are ready for peace.’
UKRAINE’S LATEST STANCE
He went on: ‘I received an important letter from President Zelensky of Ukraine.’
Trump then revealed that Zelensky’s letter said: ‘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. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you.’
Trump said: ‘I appreciate that he sent this letter, just got it a little while ago.’ He then criticized Europe over its approach to Ukraine.
‘Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine by far,’ Trump said.
