Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said that he was ready to work under the “strong leadership” of United States President Donald Trump to end the war with Russia.

He added that Kyiv was also ready to sign an agreement on minerals and security with Washington.

This controversial deal will give the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

Zelenskyy’s statement came after Trump on Friday accused him of “gambling with World War III” during a public confrontation at the White House. The Republican leader told Zelenskyy to come back for talks “when he is ready for peace”.

The tense meeting led to the collapse of the minerals deal between the two nations and had created uncertainty about American military support for Ukraine amid the war with Russia.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, which triggered the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

On Tuesday, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. “Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians,” he said in a social media post.

“My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts,” he added.

The Ukrainian president said that the first stages to end the conflict with Russia could be the release of prisoners and a ban on missiles, long-range drones and bombing of energy and civilian infrastructure. It could also include a “truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same”, he said.

“Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal,” Zelenskyy added. “We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence.”

Referring to the meeting at the White House on Friday, the Ukrainian president said that it did not go the way it was supposed to. “It is regrettable that it happened this way,” he said. “It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive.”

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

While specifics of the deal were unclear, the agreement involved Kyiv and Washington jointly tapping into Ukrainian rare earth minerals in return for the US government to “maintain a long-term financial commitment to the development of a stable and economically prosperous Ukraine”, BBC reported.

Zelenskyy had also pushed for the arrangement to include an American security guarantee, but it was not added to the terms of the preliminary agreement.

Trump had claimed that the deal would allow the US to recover billions of dollars it has spent on military support for Ukraine in the past three years.

The US president said it could also be the first step towards a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Trump’s representatives and their Russian counterparts met in February for talks mediated by Saudi Arabia on ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine was left out of the talks.

On Friday, the US president told Zelenskyy that Kyiv must either “make a deal or we are out”. The remark had been viewed as having meant that Washington would leave the peace negotiations and withdraw support to Ukraine.

After the argument with Trump, Zelenskyy left the White House early and the press conference to announce the minerals deal was cancelled.

Trump says Ukraine willing to negotiate

On Tuesday, Trump said that he had received a letter from Zelenskyy about his willingness to come to the negotiating table regarding the Russia and Ukraine war, Reuters reported.

“Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine,” Trump said in his address to the US Congress.

“The letter reads, ‘Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians,’ he said,” Trump quoted the letter from the Ukrainian president as saying.

The US president also claimed that he had been in “serious discussions with Russia”, Reuters reported. Trump told Congress that he had “received strong signals” that Moscow was ready for peace.

“Wouldn’t that be beautiful?” he said. “It’s time to stop this madness. It’s time to halt the killing. It’s time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars you have to talk to both sides.”

Also read: Understanding the Trump-Zelensky faceoff: A fraught minerals deal with vague US commitments