Kyiv
\nUkraine\u2019s Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he believed he could salvage his relationship with US President Donald Trump after their explosive meeting in the Oval Office, but that talks needed to continue behind closed doors.
\nZelenskiy reiterated that Ukraine would not concede any territory to Russia as part of a peace deal. He said he was still willing to sign a minerals deal with the US and described a discussion on Sunday with European leaders to send a draft peace plan to the US as a key development.
\nIn an extraordinary meeting that was broadcast live on Friday, Trump accused Zelenskiy of being ungrateful for US aid, of showing disrespect to his country and of risking World War Three, casting into doubt Washington\u2019s ongoing support for Ukraine in its three-year-long war with Russia.
\nZelenskiy spoke to reporters at a London airport after a summit with European leaders in London on Sunday. While he seemed in good spirits and thanked European countries for their support, the Ukrainian leader was careful to balance his dismay with the events of Friday\u2019s Oval Office meeting with a clear desire to keep talking with Washington.
\nZelenskiy said he did not think the US would stop its assistance to Ukraine, because as \u201cleaders of the civilized world\u201d they would not want to help Russian President Vladimir Putin.
\nBut he said he remained prepared for any outcome.
\n\u201cAs regards salvaging the relationship, I think our relationship will continue,\u201d Zelenskiy told reporters via a translator after the London summit.
\nBut he added: \u201cI do not think it\u2019s right when such discussions are totally open. … The format of what happened, I don\u2019t think it brought something positive or additional to us as partners.\u201d
\nA visibly shaken Zelenskiy arrived in London on Saturday where he was met with a warm embrace from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and by cheering supporters around Downing Street.
\nAt the summit on Sunday Starmer said European leaders had agreed to draw up a Ukraine peace plan to take to the US, in the hope that Washington would offer the security guarantees Kyiv says are vital to deter Russia.
\nZelenskiy said Ukraine relied on the US as its top military backer and that stopping the supply of weapons would only help Putin. \u201cThe US are … leaders of the civilized world, and they will not help Putin,\u201d he said.
\nAn influential Russian parliamentarian, Konstantin Kosachev, on Sunday derided the hopes for Europe\u2019s stepping up to forge a peace plan. \u201cAnd if Ukraine should count on something, it can only be on progress (if there is any to come) in Russian-American relations,\u201d he wrote on Telegram.
\nThe abrupt ending to Zelenskiy\u2019s Washington trip meant that the two countries failed to sign a much-vaunted minerals deal that Kyiv hoped would spur Trump to back Ukraine\u2019s war effort, but Zelenskiy said Ukraine was still willing to sign it.
\n\u201cWe agreed upon signing it; and we were ready to sign it. And honestly I believe the United States would be ready as well,\u201d he said.
\nTrump had sought to cast the minerals deal as a way for Ukraine, which is home to a trove of lithium deposits and rare earth minerals, to repay the US for its billions of dollars in aid.
\nWhile Zelenskiy sought to avoid any further antagonism of the US, saying he did not want to go over what had happened, he was more forceful on any future ceasefire deal, saying Ukraine would not hand sovereignty of occupied Ukrainian land to Russia.
\n\u201cEveryone needs to understand that Ukraine will never recognise whatever is occupied by Russia as Russian territories,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cWe hope that these security guarantees will make it 100% impossible to give Russia the opportunity to come with another aggression\u201d.
\nZelenskiy said there had been contact between Kyiv and Washington since Friday\u2019s bust-up, although not at his level, and asked if he had considered resigning, he showed no sign of wavering.
\n\u201cAs regards resignation, if I\u2019m to be changed … to change me it will not be easy because it is not enough to simply hold elections. You would need to prevent me from participating in the elections and it will be a bit more difficult.\u201d
\nSome Republican leaders had suggested that Zelenskiy needed to resign after Friday\u2019s meeting with Trump.
\nZelenskiy repeated again, however, that if Ukraine was granted NATO membership, he would have fulfilled his mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kyiv Ukraine\u2019s Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he believed he could salvage his relationship with US President Donald Trump after their explosive meeting in the Oval Office, but that talks needed to continue behind closed doors. Zelenskiy reiterated that Ukraine would not concede any territory to Russia as part of a peace deal. He said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466187,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-466174","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n