March 1 (UPI) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the United States for supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russia and called for a minerals deal after verbally sparring with President Donald Trump on Friday.
“We are very grateful to the United States for all the support,” Zelensky said Saturday morning in a post on X.
“I’m thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support and [the] American people,” Zelensky said. “Ukrainians have always appreciated this support, especially during these three years of full-scale invasion.”
Zelensky also expressed his desire to complete a rare earth minerals with the United States while continuing to work toward a peace agreement with Russia, the BBC reported.
He said any peace agreement should include security guarantees by the United States, which Trump has declined to provide.
“It’s not enough,” Zelensky said. “We need more than that. A cease-fire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine.”
He said Trump and others in the United States have sought “peace through strength,” which he said is possible when the United States stands with Ukraine.”
A Kremlin spokeswoman described Friday’s fallout between Zelensky and Trump an “epic and political and diplomatic failure.”
“Zelensky affirmed his status as the most dangerous threat to the international community as an irresponsible figure that can stirup a big war,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Saturday in a news release.
Zakharova said a “truly just and durable peace” only is possible if NATO does not expand its membership to include Ukraine and if Ukraine ends what she called the “systematic elimination of everything Russian, including language, culture and church.”
The fallout between Zelensky and Trump is “indicative of the political weakness and moral degradation of the European leaders who continue to support” Zelensky and Ukraine, she said.
Zelensky traveled to the United Kingdom after his public argument with Trump and had a meeting scheduled with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday.
He also is participating in the European leaders’ summit on Sunday in London.
Zelensky secured a $2.8 billion loan from the United Kingdom during his meeting with Starmer.
He described his meeting with Starmer as a “meaningful and warm meeting” and said the loan will pay for weapons production in Ukraine.