Now that Trump is in office Zelensky has lots to say about the war and the end of it….

First, he is still trying to force feed NATO to the US in one fashion or another….

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he was “ready” to resign as leader if it meant it would bring peace to his country, suggesting he could swap it for NATO membership – while also pushing back against US demands for Ukraine’s critical minerals and other natural resources as part of negotiations to end the war.

Asked at a press conference Sunday if he was ready to quit if it ensures peace for Ukraine, Zelensky said: “If (it guarantees) peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to resign, I am ready. I can exchange it for NATO.”

Earlier this month, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that Kyiv joining NATO was unrealistic, upending the alliance’s stated policy that Ukraine was on an “irreversible path” to membership.

After the martial law, there will be elections. Perhaps [Trump] will say something good about me,” he said, per NBC. But “it is more important what Ukrainians think about me.” Turning focus to US aid negotiations, Zelensky suggested Ukraine was “ready to share” its rare earth minerals. But he said he would not accept the latest US proposal, which lacked security guarantees yet would’ve required Ukraine to pay $500 billion to the US though natural resource revenues. The sum is “more than twice the value of Ukraine’s economic output in 2021,” per the Times. Zelensky claimed US aid has totaled around $120 billion so far and took issue with a term in the proposed deal that he says “states that for every dollar of [future US] aid, Ukraine must return $2.”

US efforts ought to represent “peace through force, but toward Russia, not in the other direction,” said Zelensky, per the Times. He spoke hours after Russia launched what Ukraine said was its largest single drone attack on the country since war erupted three years ago. Noting representatives of more than 30 countries would meet virtually or in person Monday at a peace summit in Kyiv, Zelensky called for US and European support in brokering “a lasting and just peace.” He said NATO membership for Ukraine would be on the table, but only time would tell how the discussions “finish,” per the BBC. Hopefully there will be a “turning point,”

Not to take sides with Trump but I think Zelensky is wrong…..

The Ukrainian leader also said he was not prepared to pay back the $100 billion because President Biden and Congress agreed to provide the aid as grants, not loans that would be paid back.

“I made agreements with Biden and with the US Congress. I’m grateful to Congress. It was about grant support, and a grant is not a debt. We don’t have to repay a debt. So, it’s not about the figure, it’s about the fact that we do not recognize it as a debt,” Zelensky said.

I guess it depends on how one wants to define ‘debt’….I say he is in debt to the US for its unswerving support….Ukraine has gotten billions in taxpayer money that could have been used here on many projects that need updating.

While writing this post word came out that a deal has been made with Ukraine on the mineral thing….

Ukraine and American officials have apparently reached an agreement on a deal involving Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. Ukrainian officials tell outlets including the AP and the Washington Post that the framework of a deal granting the US access to Ukraine’s minerals, oil, and gas has been worked out. Last week, insiders said an “improved” deal was in the works after Volodymyr Zelensky rejected one that would demanded $500 billion in compensation for earlier US aid to Ukraine, with no future security guarantees.

According to the Post‘s sources, the new framework does not include the $500 billion figure. The real amount of US aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded three years ago is believed to be around $140 billion. The AP’s sources say the deal now involves joint US-Ukrainian ownership of a fund that will include 50% of revenue from state-owned resources, including minerals. The sources say it still doesn’t include security guarantees, but those could be worked out in a meeting between Zelensky and President Trump.

After reporters asked him about a mineral deal on Tuesday, Trump said he had heard that Zelensky is coming to the White House on Friday. “Certainly it’s okay with me if he’d like to, and he would like to sign it together with me,” he said, per the Post. “And I understand that’s a big deal, very big deal.” ” We’re helping the country through a very very big problem,” he said, per the BBC, “but the American taxpayer now is going to get their money back plus.”

We knew a deal could be had…..money is involved and that is always a starting point.

Any deep thoughts on this turn?

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“lego ergo scribo”