For Volodymyr Zelensky, his Oval Office clash with Donald Trump was a stark demonstration of how important personal ties with Donald Trump will be to his chances of ending the war with Russia on acceptable terms.

Zelensky has scrambled to contain the damage in the two weeks since -- apologising to Trump, thanking him and the American people for their aid, and bending to his call for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

That has so far been enough to get US military aid and intelligence sharing switched back on, present a united front to Moscow and secure a cautious endorsement from Trump.

"I had somebody that didn't seem to want peace. Now he's agreed to peace," Trump said of Zelensky.

"We need normal, functional relations," Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Friday.

Despite the recent progress, with Trump still pushing a rapprochement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, ties with Zelensky remain fragile.

Friction between the pair dates all the way back to 2019, when Trump tried to pressure Zelensky........

© International Business Times