Treasury secretary Scott Bessent: Zelenskyy refused mineral deal twice before

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had already twice refused to sign a minerals deal with the United States.

“This has to be one of the greatest diplomatic mishaps of all time by President Zelenskyy,” Bessent said in an interview Friday with Laura Ingraham, host of Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.” 

Bessent explained that Zelenskyy told him during a meeting in Kyiv that he would not sign a mineral deal, which would exchange billions of dollars in US aid funding for rare earths and other resources from Ukraine.  Zelenskyy also refused to close the deal with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Bessent stated. 

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On Friday, Trump and Vance reprimanded Zelenskyy in full view of reporters, with cameras rolling. The tense exchange led to a canceled meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump.

“It was supposed to be a great day and this is one of the biggest own goals in diplomatic history,” Bessent said, referencing a soccer term about scoring against your own team. 

“Today, I was shocked that he would behave like this on camera in front of the world,” he added. 

On the social media  site X, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-M posted, “Zelenskyy 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, Zelenskyy was antagonistic and over the top.”

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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 Truth Social account shortly after the meeting that Zelenskyy was “not ready for Peace.”

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“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,” Zelenskyy 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.” 

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.