The Ukrainian leader also stated that if Ukraine is permitted to join NATO, he will stand down, though it is unclear whether he was serious.
President Volodymyr Zelensky fought back on Sunday against the Trump administration's demands for billions of dollars in Ukrainian natural resources and for peace negotiations that exclude Ukraine, while also announcing plans for a big European leaders' conference on Monday.
The Ukrainian leader's efforts to bolster up European backing while pressing on with negotiations with the US came amid foreboding warnings from President Trump in recent days mocking Mr. Zelensky and expressing threats if Ukraine does not agree to a minerals deal soon.
Mr. Zelensky indicated that by attacking Ukraine, Mr. Trump had selected the wrong foe.
"Peace through force, but toward Russia, not in the other direction," Mr. Zelensky stated about American efforts to end the war.
Speaking at a news conference in Kyiv, Mr. Zelensky stated that he was willing to step aside if it meant peace in Ukraine. His remark came days after Mr. Trump questioned his legitimacy and labeled him a "dictator without elections," mimicking a Kremlin talking point.
It was unclear whether Mr. Zelensky was truly considering stepping down or simply responding to recent attacks from Washington and Moscow. He also stated that he would trade his resignation for Ukraine's admittance into NATO, which could be a joke given that both Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin strongly oppose Ukraine's membership in the military alliance.
"If peace for Ukraine requires me to step down, I'm ready," Mr. Zelensky declared on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia's full-fledged invasion. "Another scenario: I could trade my position for NATO membership if that's what it takes," he told reporters.
The Ukrainian leader stated that more than 30 countries would convene on Monday, either in person in Kyiv or online, to form a coalition of support for Ukraine's military efforts. The meeting, he said, will focus on military assistance and security guarantees to implement any prospective cease-fire.
Mr. Zelensky has stated that he will not accept any agreement reached between the United States and Russia without Ukraine's participation.
"This is how we view the negotiating table: Ukraine, Europe, the United States, and Russia. "That's about how we envision it," he said.
Frustration with the drawn-out negotiations has fostered an increasing feud between Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Trump, particularly after the American president questioned Mr. Zelensky's political legitimacy and wrongly claimed that Ukraine instigated the war with Russia.
European friends have pushed Mr. Zelensky to tone down his conflict with the American president. On Sunday, however, he did not back down from his prior remarks and reiterated his claim that Mr. Trump is living in a misinformation bubble.
Mr. Zelensky's response on Sunday may enrage Mr. Trump, who is pushing for a minerals deal and a peace agreement on his own terms.
Mr. Zelensky stated that Ukraine and the United States are still negotiating a contract to transfer Ukraine's minerals and other natural resources in exchange for American aid. Mr. Zelensky stated that he was still unwilling to sign the United States' most recent plan, which would require Ukraine to pay the United States $500 billion in natural resource earnings.
"I am not signing something that 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to repay," Mr. Zelensky said, adding that negotiations would continue. Drawing on Ukraine's natural resource wealth, he estimated that paying $500 billion would take 250 years, which he deemed unfeasible.
At the same time, Mr. Zelensky stated that he may eventually have little choice but to sign the agreement. "If we are forced and we cannot do without it, then we should probably go for it," he told me.
On Saturday evening, Mr. Trump increased pressure on Ukraine to sign the minerals deal, which has now been negotiated for more than ten days. Several draft accords have previously been rejected by the Ukrainian side because they lacked concrete US security guarantees to safeguard Kyiv from future Russian aggression.
"I think we're pretty close to a deal, and we better be close to a deal," Mr. Trump said at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday evening, stressing that he wants compensation for previous American military and financial help to Ukraine. Additionally, he remarked, "We're asking for rare earth and oil — anything we can get."
On Friday, the United States suggested a fresh draft agreement, seen by The Fresh York Times, that lacked security guarantees for Ukraine and had much harsher financial terms. The new draft restated the United States' demand that Ukraine gives over half of its natural resource extraction profits, which include minerals, gas, and oil, as well as earnings from ports and other infrastructure.
Under the proposed provisions, such income would be directed to a fund in which the United States would have a 100% financial interest, with Ukraine contributing until the fund reached $500 billion. That figure is more than double the size of Ukraine's economic output in 2021, before the war.
Mr. Zelensky said the number was disproportionate to the value of US aid to Ukraine so far — around $120 billion, according to the Kiel Institute, a German research institute — and he refused to "acknowledge" that Ukraine owed the US $500 billion, "no matter what anyone says."
Mr. Zelensky also raised another issue with the proposed agreement: Ukraine would be obligated to return the United States twice the amount of future American funding.
"The agreement states that for every dollar of aid, Ukraine must return $2," Mr. Zelensky said on Sunday. "To put it simply, it is a 100% loan. I have to return the principal plus 100% on top."
The deal does not commit the United States to providing security assurances to Ukraine or promising more military assistance to Kyiv. The term "security" was even removed from a phrase in a previous version of the agreement, dated Feb. 14 and accessed by The Times, which stated that both countries sought to achieve "lasting peace and security in Ukraine."
Instead, the agreement states that a portion of the fund's income will be reinvested in Ukraine's rehabilitation. It also declares that the United declares aims to provide long-term financial assistance to Ukraine's economic development, however, no amount is stated.
This possible commitment is consistent with the White House's view that the mere presence of American economic interests in Ukraine will deter future Russian action.
"This economic partnership would lay the groundwork for a long-term peace by sending a clear signal to the American people, the people of Ukraine, and the Russian government about the importance of Ukraine's future sovereignty and success to the United States," wrote Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, in a Saturday opinion piece for The Financial Times.
However, Mr. Zelensky said on Sunday that the existence of American corporations in eastern Ukraine before the war did not discourage Russia from attacking and occupying those territories. "Clearly, this isn't a 100 percent guarantee that Russians won't go where they've already been," the president remarked on Sunday.
While Ukraine continues to talk, Moscow shows no indications of slowing down its attacks, launching a massive Russian drone assault on Ukrainian cities overnight. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russia had launched 267 drones, a record since the war began three years ago. That assertion could not be independently verified.
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