KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said he wanted to “make things right” with US President Donald Trump and to work under the US president’s “strong leadership” to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine.

In his first public comments since Trump halted US military aid to Ukraine, Zelensky said his public bust-up with Trump last week was “regrettable” and pledged to sign a key minerals deal with Washington.

He said initial stages of a peace deal could involve releasing prisoners of war and a truce in the sky and sea involving a ban on missiles, long-range drones and attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure — an idea that came from European leaders Monday. That would be followed by working with Washington on “a strong final deal,” Zelensky said.

A dramatic collapse in the Kyiv-Washington wartime alliance has played out in the open since an Oval Office clash between Zelensky and Trump last week, crescendoing with Ukraine’s top ally suspending crucial military aid.

“My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts,” Zelensky wrote in an English-language post to X.

“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be,” the Ukrainian leader added. “It is time to make things right.”

In an apparent reference to Trump’s criticism following the contentious White House meeting on Friday that Zelensky does not want a peace deal, the Ukrainian leader said: “None of us want an endless war.”

Zelensky said that he had asked Ukrainian officials to contact US counterparts to obtain official information on the aid........

© The Times of Israel