Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had already twice refused to signal a minerals cope with america.
“This has to be one of the greatest diplomatic mishaps of all time by President Zelensky,” Bessent mentioned in an interview Friday with Laura Ingraham, host of Fox Information’ “The Ingraham Angle.”
Bessent defined that Zelensky instructed him throughout a gathering in Kyiv that he wouldn’t signal a mineral deal, which might change billions of {dollars} in US support funding for uncommon earths and different assets from Ukraine. Zelensky additionally refused to shut the cope with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Bessent said.
On Friday, Trump and Vance reprimanded Zelensky in full view of reporters, with cameras rolling. The tense change led to a canceled assembly between Zelensky and Trump.
“It was supposed to be a great day and this is one of the biggest own goals in diplomatic history,” Bessent mentioned, referencing a soccer time period about scoring towards your individual group.
“Today, I was shocked that he would behave like this on camera in front of the world,” he added.
On the social media website X, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. posted, “Zelensky could have signed the deal five days earlier but wanted to come to the White House. He’d been difficult for two weeks. Yet he wanted the White House meeting. Trump was upbeat about it even just the day before publicly and privately the day of. Although he could have reset the whole thing, Zelensky was antagonistic and over the top.”
Schmitt concluded, “He had a one foot putt but was more interested in litigating issues that should be discussed behind closed doors (and have been) in public.”
Trump posted to his Reality Social account shortly after the assembly that Zelensky was “not ready for Peace.”
“We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today,” Trump wrote. “Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure.”
“Thank you, America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit,” Zelensky posted to X on Friday afternoon. “Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
