Trump said what letter he received from Zelensky.
US President Donald Trump stated in his address to both chambers of Congress that he received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressing readiness for peace negotiations. According to him, signals of readiness for peace have also come from the Russian side.
He quoted excerpts from the letter, in which Zelensky and his team stated their readiness to sit at the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring about "a strong peace," emphasizing that "no one wants peace more than the Ukrainians."
"My team and I are ready to work towards achieving lasting peace under President Trump's strong leadership," Trump quoted another part of the letter.
According to him, Zelensky also indicated his readiness to sign an agreement on natural resources "at any time."
"At the same time, we have had serious negotiations with Russia, and we have received strong signals that they are ready for peace," Trump added.
Volodymyr Zelensky commented on his confrontation with Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday, stating his readiness to sit at the negotiating table. He had also previously mentioned his willingness to sign an agreement regarding Ukraine's underground resources.
"I am tirelessly working to end the brutal conflict in Ukraine," Trump said. "In this horrific and brutal confrontation, which shows no signs of ending, millions of Ukrainians and Russians have died or been injured in vain. The US has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine's defense."
"Do you want this to go on for another five years?" Trump asked, reiterating that the US has spent more on supporting Ukraine than Europe.
"Unfortunately, Europe has spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than on protecting Ukraine. Think about that."
When Trump spoke about Ukraine, some Democrats left the chamber. The US president did not mention the suspension of military aid to Kyiv in his speech.
Democrat El Green was removed from the chamber at the beginning of Trump's speech. Photo: Reuters
This was Trump's first speech in Congress since returning to the White House. This is a traditional event where the president accounts for the first few weeks of his term. Donald Trump has spent 44 days in this position, which is just over six weeks.
In 2017, Trump delivered a speech in Congress that lasted exactly one hour; this time he spoke for 1 hour and 40 minutes, making his speech the longest in history.
"America is back," he said before his address.
He talked about how his administration achieved results in just a few weeks that no administration had been able to achieve in years.
"The American dream cannot be stopped, and our country is on the verge of a comeback that the world has never seen and perhaps will never see again," Trump said.
Democratic party representatives began to express their discontent and whistle at Trump, prompting House Speaker Mike Johnson to call everyone to order and threaten to remove those attempting to disrupt the speech from the chamber.
Democratic Congressman El Green, when he refused to take his seat, prompted Johnson to demand "that gentleman be removed from the chamber." After that, Trump continued his speech.
His speech was frequently interrupted by applause from Republican supporters – they cheered their party leader while Democrats remained seated.