President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to meet his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, in the U.S. once the date and other details are agreed upon, Zelensky said in an interview with The Guardian published in full on Feb. 12.
"As for President Trump, he said he was waiting for me in Washington. And we are very much looking forward to our teams agreeing on the dates and other details for a meeting in the U.S.," Zelensky said in the interview.
Zelensky's comments follow Trump's statement on Feb. 7 that the two leaders may meet in Washington this week. The Ukrainian president indicated that no specific plans for a bilateral meeting have been set.
"As soon as this is agreed, I am ready for the meeting," Zelensky added. Later this week, Ukraine's head of state is expected to meet U.S. Vice President JD Vance during the Munich Security Conference.
The Trump administration has intensified contact with both Kyiv and Moscow as the U.S. president aims to broker a swift peace deal and end the full-scale war nearing its third anniversary.
While providing little details on how he plans to achieve a settlement, Trump suggested that Ukraine could secure U.S. support in exchange for its rare earth minerals. Zelensky said in the interview that he is ready to discuss various options for the resource extraction deal as long as they are "mutually beneficial."
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to visit Ukraine this week to discuss the rare earth deal, while Trump's special peace envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is set to arrive on Feb. 20.
Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov also met U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for the first time on Feb. 12 on the sidelines of the Ramstein-format meeting in Brussels.
Separately, Trump has claimed he held one or more phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and voiced intent to meet the Russian leader in person, a step welcomed by the Kremlin.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
