Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy said on X, “We are ready to sign the minerals agreement, and it will be the first step toward security guarantees.”
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Zelesnkyy had refused to sign the minerals deal twice before the Oval Office blow-up, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“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 on “The Ingraham Angle.”
Zelesnkyy refused to sign a deal when Bessent was in Kyiv and also turned down the agreement with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Bessent stated.
“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.”
There is a method to Zelenskyy’s madness. He could have easily guessed the reaction to the Oval Office blow-up among his European allies. Norway is refusing to refuel a U.S. sub in its waters. Some in Europe are saying that the U.S. leadership of the free world is dead. NATO won’t last much longer, others say.
Zelesnkyy wants to keep fighting. If he can’t draw U.S. troops into the war, then he’ll try to get the Europeans to fight his war for him.
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Zelenskyy says he wants “security guarantees” along with the mineral deal. Specifically, he wants an entry into NATO for Ukraine. Beyond that, he wants continued massive shipments of advanced weapons to his country. In short, he wanted what he was getting from Biden. That’s not going to happen.
“I want the U.S. to stand more firmly on our side,” Zelenskyy said, stating Ukraine’s relationship with the United States is “historic and solid bond between our peoples” that extends beyond Trump and himself.
Zelenskyy said it is “understandable the U.S. might look for dialogue with Putin,” but frequently warned of Russia throughout his X thread, calling the country “the enemy” and stating Putin cannot be trusted to uphold a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Zelesnkyy took his road show to Great Britain, where a crunch meeting with other European leaders will take place. The Ukrainian president met with King Charles and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, trying to salvage whatever’s left of the coalition to save Ukraine.
Experts have warned that without drastic action the surreal scene in the Oval Office could spell the end of Nato and Trump could halt military aid to Ukraine as early as today.
The American leader yesterday led an unprecedented humiliation of the war-time premier alongside attack dog VP JD Vance, later declaring that his counterpart was ‘not ready for peace’.
He accused Zelensky of ‘gambling with World War Three’ as they abandoned plans to sign a minerals deal which would have given further US support in exchange for access to Ukraine’s natural resources.
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Only Trump can “end NATO,” and he’s not ready to do that yet. The Europeans are flailing about, not sure how to proceed.
Their best bet is to get behind Trump’s efforts to end the war on something less than 100% of Russia’s terms. Whether that’s possible after the Oval Office flare-up remains to be seen.
