Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are cautiously awaiting updates on negotiations to end the Ukraine-Russia war after talks blew up between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.
After the tense exchange in the Oval Office ended abruptly with no progress on peace talks, Zelenskyy said he is ready to ”make things right” and finds it “regrettable” the way his and Trump’s meeting played out on Friday. The statement comes after Trump ordered a pause to military funding on Monday to review the funds and ensure they are “contributing to a solution.”
“Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on Tuesday. “My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.”
Although it was not a fully issued apology, which Trump and his administration had demanded, many of the president’s allies such as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., approved the statement as a “step in the right direction.”
“We’ll see how it ends,” said Graham, who called on Zelenskyy to apologize for his behavior in the White House or to step down.
Other pro-Ukraine Republicans also called Zelenskyy’s negotiation olive branch a “very positive sign,” with several lawmakers being careful to comment on the situation until they see how talks progress.
“I think that it’s incumbent on people like me to take a deep breath, to let the process take place as it appears to be doing and to refrain from saying anything that might interfere with that,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said. “There’s been too much rhetoric, and so I think it’s time for me to be silent.”
However, some Republicans have warned if a temporary aid pause lasts too long, it could embolden Russia to continue its advances into Ukraine.
“Too bad Iran, North Korea and China are not pausing their military aid and economic support. There is an invader and a victim, there is a democracy and a dictatorship, there is a country who wants to be part of the West and one who hates the West,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told the Deseret News. “We should be unambiguously for the good side.”
Others suggested that a Russian advance would only serve to disadvantage the Kremlin, arguing Trump would not allow such a move.
“Hopefully, Russia understands that Donald Trump does not suffer nonsense, and he does not suffer fools,” Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., told the Deseret News. “I would think Russia pushing their advantage would be an exceptionally bad idea, not just for Ukraine but for Russia.”
Johnson called Zelenskyy’s offer to return to negotiations “good news,” arguing the countries cannot reach lasting peace “if we don’t have President Zelenskyy at the table.”