President Donald Trump said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was treated “rather rudely” on a recent visit to Kyiv, where a rare earth mineral deal was rejected by Ukraine.
Trump said he’s going to resurrect the deal or things are not going to make Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “too happy,” again calling for elections in the nation that is operating under martial law.
“Scott Bessent actually went there and was treated rather rudely, because essentially, they told him no and Zelensky was sleeping and unavailable to meet him,” Trump said Wednesday night on Air Force One. “He traveled many hours on the train, which is a dangerous trip, and we’re talking about the secretary of the Treasury. He went there to get a document signed, and when he got there, he came back empty. They wouldn’t sign the document.”
Trump said, by contrast, “For Europe, they pay back their money. It’s a loan.”
Asked if he could resurrect the deal, Trump said: “Yeah, I think I’m gonna resurrect that deal, you know, we’ll see what happens, but I’m gonna resurrect it or things are gonna not make him too happy. And look, it’s time for elections.”
Trump again suggested that American aid to Ukraine is unaccounted for.
“I’d like to find out all the money that we’ve been sending to Ukraine. Where is it?” Trump said.
Trump has falsely claimed that Zelensky “admits that half of the money we sent him is ‘MISSING.’” Zelensky has made no such admission. Rather, he has taken issue with inflated claims about how much US cash Ukraine has received.
Speaking more positively of talks with Russia, Trump said: “I can tell you, we’re doing very well with Russia. We’re going to do something with Russia that he was unable to do. We could make a deal with Russia to stop the killing of potentially additional millions of people.”
