President Donald Trump told a joint session of Congress it is “time to stop this madness” between Ukraine and Russia, welcoming Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky’s return to the negotiating table after the pair’s spat in the White House last week.
“It’s time to halt the killing,” Trump said during his speech on Tuesday evening. “It’s time to end the senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides.”
Trump expressed his appreciation for a letter Zelensky sent him earlier on Tuesday and noted the U.S. has had “serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they’re ready for peace.”
Zelensky acknowledged in his letter that the Oval Office tension was “regrettable.” During the visit, the Ukrainian leader questioned Vice President JD Vance’s commitment to beginning negotiations with Russia without concrete security guarantees for Ukraine. Vance then accused Zelensky of being “disrespectful.”
“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people! You’re gambling with World War III!” Trump told Zelensky.
“Have you said ‘thank you’ once?” Vance added as the exchange grew more and more heated. “You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October. Offer some words of appreciation for the Unites States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country.”
After the Oval Office blowup, Trump kicked Zelensky and his team out of the White House before they had signed a pre-negotiated agreement that would have given the U.S. the rights to Ukrainian rare earth minerals. The deal still has not been signed.
Zelensky wrote in his letter on Tuesday that the meeting “did not go the way it was supposed to be.”
“It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive,” Zelensky posted on X.
“I would like to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to peace,” he added. “None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.”
The letter came one day after the Trump administration announced it would suspend aid to Ukraine until Zelensky shows he is willing to come to the negotiating table.