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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signalled that he is ready to follow the White House’s lead and negotiate a peace deal to end the war with Russia.

This comes after the Trump administration paused military aid and intelligence sharing with the eastern European nation following last week’s acrimonious disagreement in the Oval Office.

In the wake of Zelensky’s evasiveness toward working with the administration for a peace deal after he and President Donald Trump’s public argument at the White House, Trump ordered a pause of U.S. military aid to Ukraine on Monday.

In addition, CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated that the U.S. had also paused the sharing of intelligence with Ukraine.

Zelensky Ready for Peace Deal

But in a post on X last Tuesday, Zelensky indicated that he is now open to negotiating a peace deal with Russia.

“Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer,” he wrote.

“Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.”

I would like to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to peace.

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…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 4, 2025

Zelensky went on to lay out the possible parameters for the first stage of a deal, including “the release of prisoners and truce in the sky — ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure — and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same.”

He also noted that last week’s dispute with Trump was “regrettable,” adding, “It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.”

Zelensky also stated that Ukraine is now “ready to sign” the mineral deal proposed by Trump last week, which calls for America to receive the rights to mine rare earth minerals in Ukraine in exchange for unspecified security guarantees.

“We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively,” he wrote.

Ratcliffe acknowledged the post during a Fox Business interview Wednesday, signalling that the pauses would likely be lifted soon.

“[O]n the military front and the intelligence front, the pause that allowed that to happen, I think will go away, and I think we’ll work shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine as we have, to push back on the aggression that’s there.”

Ukraine Will Need to Make Concessions

Lawmakers like Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) agree but also insist that a negotiated peace with Russia will necessarily involve significant concessions on Ukraine’s part.

“President Trump is cleaning up the mess that Joe Biden got us into and then just let fester for the balance of four years,” he observed during Tuesday’s “Washington Watch.”

“… He stated during the campaign he wants peace. Europe wants peace. Most of the Ukrainian people want peace now. They [would] like their territory back, too. We all want Russia out of Ukraine.”

“But this is what’s never going to happen. … There’s never going to be a chance to redress all those issues, including the infractions by Russia and by Vladimir Putin unless Ukraine comes to the table. … And now we’re seeing the signal that he’s ready and willing any time, any place to sign the deal.”

“We wish [Zelensky] did have leverage,” Perry continued. “We wish Ukraine could be a sovereign nation on its own and beat Russia.”

“But it’s pretty apparent that without the United States and our checkbook, that there’s just no chance for that, and we don’t have the money for it. We’re not putting our troops in peril there to have a proxy war in Ukraine with Russia.”

“So if that’s the case, how do we end this quickly? And how do we put Ukraine in the best position to reclaim their territory and repay their debts? This is the beginning of that discussion.”

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Originally published at The Washington Stand. Photo by President of Ukraine.