(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump signaled another twist in the back-and-forth over his effort to force a negotiated end to the Ukraine-Russia war during his speech Tuesday night.
As he first mentioned Ukraine 90 minutes into his address, Trump provided an update following last week’s blowup in the Oval Office between him and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy left the White House after the shouting match and did not sign an anticipated deal that would have given the U.S. rare minerals from Ukraine.
Trump claimed during his speech Zelenskyy sent him a letter just before his speech indicating that he was ready to come back to the negotiating table and was willing to sign the agreement to give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare materials.
“Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians, he said. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine,” Trump claimed the letter said.
Zelenskyy and Ukrainian officials didn’t immediately comment, The letter hasn’t been released by the White House or Ukrainian officials.
Trump indicated to top advisers he wanted to get the deal done before the speech, sources told ABC News.
ABC News’ Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.
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