Waltz Criticizes Zelenskyy for Rejecting Minerals Deal

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The national security adviser saidย insults Zelenskyy directed at Trump were โ€˜unacceptable.โ€™

WASHINGTONโ€”White House national security adviser Mike Waltz on Feb. 20 criticized Ukraine for missing a โ€œhistoric opportunityโ€ by not signing a deal with the United States to tap into mineral reserves that could have benefitted both nations.

โ€œOur own Secretary of Treasury personally made the trip to offer Ukrainians what can only be described as a historic opportunity that is for America to co-invest with Ukraine in their minerals, in their resources, to truly grow the pie,โ€ Waltz told reporters during a White House press briefing.

Waltz cited an example to respond to speculation that Ukraine lacks significant mineral reserves or resources.

He pointed to a Ukrainian aluminum processing foundry that had been damaged.

โ€œItโ€™s not at its current capacity. If that is restored, it would account for Americaโ€™s entire imports of aluminum for an entire year,โ€ Waltz said. โ€œThere are tremendous resources there.โ€

Waltzโ€™s remarks followed a heated exchange between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Feb. 19, in which Trump labeled Zelenskyy a dictator.

Zelenskyy earlier accused Trump of being influenced by disinformation and undermining efforts to diplomatically isolate Russia.

Waltz said Zelenskyyโ€™s โ€œinsultsโ€ directed at Trump were โ€œunacceptable.โ€

Ukraine has reportedly rejected a bid by the Trump administration to own 50 percent of the countryโ€™s rare earth minerals.

Trump accused Zelenskyy of breaking the deal, ramping up his criticism during a press gaggle on Air Force One on Feb. 19.

He claimed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visited Ukraine but was โ€œtreated rather rudelyโ€ as Zelenskyy was unavailable to sign the agreement.

โ€œHe went there to get a document signed and … he came back empty,โ€ Trump said.

Trump also vowed to investigate the money spent on Ukraine and asserted that he could negotiate a deal with Russia to end the war.

โ€œWe can make a deal with Russia to stop the killing,โ€ he added.

During the press briefing, Waltz also responded to speculation that Trump and his administration might have been manipulated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

โ€œIf thereโ€™s anybody in this world that can go toe to toe with Putin, that could go toe to toe with Xi [Jinping], that could go toe to toe with Kim Jong Unโ€”and we could keep going down the listโ€”itโ€™s Donald J. Trump,โ€ he said.

Byย Emel Akan

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