US Treasury Secretary comments on future of Ukraine deal after White House clash
Photo: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (Getty Images)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the White House as "unacceptable," calling it "one of the great diplomatic own goals in history", Bloomberg Television reports.
"It’s very difficult to do an economic deal with a leader who doesn’t want to do a peace deal," he said.
According to the outlet, Bessent’s remarks came shortly after President Donald Trump’s goal of signing a major minerals deal with Zelenskyy fell through.
The public dispute largely centered on whether Zelenskyy had shown enough gratitude for US aid. The Ukrainian President sought stronger security guarantees from the US in exchange for signing the deal.
"The deal didn’t offer explicit security guarantees, instead focusing on the economic partnership between the US and Ukraine," the outlet noted.
Zelenskyy's visit to the United States
The visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the United States was planned in advance. It was expected that Zelenskyy and Trump would sign a cooperation agreement during their meeting at the White House on February 28, which included a clause on rare earths.
However, the document was not signed. Zelenskyy had a dispute with US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance about Russia's war against Ukraine. After that, Zelenskyy left the White House without attending the press conference and signing the deal.
Zelenskyy later thanked the US people and Trump for their support of Ukraine. Many European leaders have already reacted to the Trump-Zelenskyy scandal.
