Ukraine and Russia in the “State of the Union”: A Sign of Peace and Readiness for Dialogue

6th March 2025

1 minute read

Ukraine and Russia in the "State of the Union": A Sign of Peace and Readiness for Dialogue

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he had received a message from his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Zelensky expressed his willingness to sit at the negotiating table to end the war with Russia.

During his speech before Congress, Trump stated: “Earlier today, I received an important message from President Zelensky, stating that Ukraine is ready to sit at the negotiating table as soon as possible to establish lasting peace. No one wants peace more than the Ukrainians.”

This announcement comes just days after talks between Zelensky and Trump at the White House collapsed, with the meeting marked by sharp disagreements between the two leaders.

Despite this, mediation efforts appear to be ongoing. Trump revealed that his administration had engaged in “serious” discussions with Moscow, during which it received “strong signals” that Russia was ready for peace.

He added: “Wouldn’t that be wonderful? It’s time to stop this madness. It’s time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides.”

Trump also seized the opportunity to criticize the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict, claiming that the United States had sent “hundreds of billions of dollars” to support Ukraine, while Europe, according to him, continued to buy oil and gas from Russia for amounts greater than what it spent on military aid to Kyiv.

He added: “Biden has authorized more spending on this war than Europe itself,” highlighting what he described as an unfair distribution of financial burdens between Washington and its European allies.