Trump hails letter from Zelenskiy but holds off on minerals deal

President Donald Trump said he received an “important letter” from Ukraine’s leader looking to smooth over a clash that erupted during a contentious Oval Office meeting, but held back from lifting a US pause on military aid or announcing a revived minerals deal.

Addressing a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Trump read out part of what he said was the letter from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. It echoed a social media post he wrote earlier Tuesday voicing regret over how the Oval Office meeting with Trump played out and saying he was ready to sign the natural-resources deal that was scrapped after the encounter.

“I appreciate that he sent this letter,” Trump said. “Just got it a little while ago.”

The president’s remarks signaled that he may be warming back up to the Ukrainian leader and will revive the deal. But it fell short of a goal shared by Ukraine and some members of his own team that he might announce during the speech that the deal was back on.

People familiar with the president’s stance had said earlier that the White House supports moving ahead with the agreement to share revenue from Ukraine’s natural resources — a key US demand in return for Washington’s continued support for Kyiv. The people asked not to be identified discussing private information.

Rapprochement over the mineral deal would mark a fresh reversal for Trump after a chaotic few days that fanned fears the US support for Ukraine had reached a breaking point. Late Monday, Trump ordered a pause to all US military aid to Ukraine, a move that alarmed allies. Indeed, any progress on the deal depends on buy-in from the famously mercurial leader.

But US Vice President JD Vance and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz both signaled optimism about finalizing the US—Ukraine agreement, which calls for 50% of its future resource revenues to go into a US-managed investment fund, part of Trump’s pledge to recoup taxpayer money that helped Kyiv resist Moscow’s invasion.

“I think the president is still committed to the mineral deal,” Vance told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. “The mineral deal is a really important part of the president’s policy.” As to the resumption of military aid, Vance said, “when the Ukrainians come to the negotiating table, everything is on the table.”

Trump didn’t mention the aid pause during his speech. But he said the US had had “serious discussions” with Russia.

“It’s time to end the senseless war,” he said. “If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides.”

The agreement, which doesn’t include any US security guarantees against future Russian aggression, was originally intended to be signed last week. That plan unraveled spectacularly after Zelenskiy argued on camera with Trump and Vance during a meeting, leading Trump’s team to eventually kick Zelenskiy and his entourage out of the White House and call off the signing.

In his social media post Tuesday, Zelenskiy said that he’s ready to work speedily to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, stressing that his dramatic falling out with Trump over the path toward peace was “regrettable.”

Trump’s weapons-pause order applies to all US military equipment not currently in Ukraine, including weapons in transit on aircraft and ships or waiting in transit areas in Poland.

The impact of the order was felt immediately along the Polish border with Ukraine at a key airport, which serves as a transit hub for the transport of weapons and medical supplies. European allies were blindsided by the move. Senior British officials were unaware of the plan late Monday, despite a series of phone calls between members of the UK and US cabinet in recent days.

“This of course is putting Ukraine and Poland in a more difficult situation,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday. “But we have to cope with this situation. So there is no point in being offended by reality here.”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer lauded Zelenskiy’s “steadfast commitment” to peace in a phone call Tuesday as he sought to reconnect the leaders. Starmer, who hosted the Ukrainian and fellow European leaders at the weekend and has been in regular contact with Trump, briefed Zelenskiy on discussions with Trump on Monday.

“It was vital that all parties worked towards a lasting and secure peace for Ukraine as soon as possible,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

European allies have been racing to come up with plans to keep Ukraine supplied with weapons, as well as to provide peacekeeping forces for a deal. Yet Europe lacks many of the arms and other capabilities that the US now provides. Allied officials have said supplies of weapons are likely to last only until summer.

The European Union is meanwhile proposing extending €150 billion ($158 billion) in loans to boost defense spending, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels.

Zelenskiy in his post again hinted at the matter of security guarantees — an insistence that riled Trump and Vance, but which Ukraine sees as for a peace deal to be lasting.

“Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format,” Zelenskiy said. “We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”

(By Jenny Leonard, Daniel Flatley, Daryna Krasnolutska and Nick Wadhams)