WASHINGTON, March 7. /TASS/. Ukrainian oligarchs oppose Kiev's signing of the rare-earths deal with Washington, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
"I'll tell you who doesn't like this deal: the Ukrainian oligarchs who tend to have their hand in the till," he said during a CNBC TV broadcast. According to him, Russia was also against this deal.
Bessent emphasized that Vladimir Zelensky had already promised the US administration several times to sign the mentioned deal, but he did not keep his word. According to the information provided by the minister, this happened at least three times. The signing was supposed to take place first in Kiev during Bessent's visit, then on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference and finally in Washington during Zelensky's meeting with US President Donald Trump. "We had a vigorous discussion for 45 minutes or an hour. He did not want to sign the economic partnership agreement there," the US Treasury Secretary said about his talks with Zelensky in Kiev about the deal on February 12.
On February 28, Zelensky arrived at the White House for a meeting with US President Donald Trump. During the conversation in the presence of journalists, an argument broke out between them, during which Trump pointed out Zelensky's disrespectful attitude towards the United States, and US Vice President JD Vance emphasized Zelensky's ungratefulness to Washington for the support provided to Kiev. The press conference following their meeting was canceled, and the signing of a US-Ukraine mineral deal did not take place. Trump later posted a statement on his Truth Social page emphasizing that Zelensky was disrespectful and unprepared for a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.
On March 3, US President Donald Trump blasted out Vladimir Zelensky’s words that the conflict in Ukraine is still a long way from being over. He warned that the US will no longer put up with it. On the same day, Trump said, clearly referring to Zelensky, that the opponent of peace in Ukraine won’t be there for long and expressed confidence in Russia’s desire to resolve the conflict. The White House then said that Washington had suspended military aid to Kiev.