Trump says Ukraine's Zelensky sent him ‘important letter’ after Oval Office ‘shouting match’ — here's what it said

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (local time) that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sent a letter to him saying that his country is ready to “come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace close."

During an address to a joint session of Congress, Trump said he received the “important letter” from Zelensky earlier today.

Trump said the letter read, in part, “Nobody wants peace more than Ukraine. 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 maintain its sovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you,” Trump said Zelensky wrote.

Trump and Zelensky were set to sign a minerals deal at the White House on Friday, until the Ukrainian leader was told to leave after a heated meeting.

The president said he was appreciative of the letter, adding that “simultaneously, we’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldn't that be beautiful?”

Mineral in return for military aid

Four sources told Reuters that the Trump administration and Ukraine plan to sign the deal in return for military aid, which Trump has paused. But later on Tuesday US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News, "There is no signing planned," according to a post on X by a Fox reporter.

The ‘shouting match’

Trump's statement and Zelensky's purported letter came days after the two world engaged in a 'shouting match' that stunned the world. The hostile meeting between the two at the Oval Office became a public spectacle when trump told the Ukrainian President, "You don't have the cards right now."

"You're either going to make a deal or we're out, and if we're out, you'll fight it out and I don't think it's going to be pretty," Trump had said last Friday after the meeting to seal the mineral deal with Ukraine.

Zelensky departed shortly after, with Trump posting on social media that "he can come back when he is ready for peace." US media reported that Zelensky had been told to leave by senior Trump officials.

The president told journalists later Friday that Zelensky was "overplaying his hand" and should agree to end fighting "immediately."

Zelensky, however, refused to apologize, telling Fox News, "I'm not sure that we did something bad." He did, however, say he wished the exchange had not taken place in front of reporters.

US Democrats have raised an outcry over Trump's abrupt pivot towards Russia, the most dramatic geopolitical shift in generations for Washington, where governments under both parties since the 1940s have prioritized defending Europe from a hostile Moscow

(With inputs from agencies)