By ScheerPost Staff
The Guardian recently provided some inside accounts into what exactly transpired this weekend regarding the heated confrontation that sent Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Oval Office meeting with the Trump administration spiraling downhill. The Trump White House blamed Zelenskyy for the “meltdown” that occurred, and claimed that they had communicated their position to Ukraine beforehand, and senators also advised the Ukrainian President to “not litigate the issue of wanting stronger security guarantees to [Trump’s] face.”
From the Trump officials’ perspective, Zelenskyy “expressed skepticism at JD Vance’s view of making peace with Russia and…lectured the US vice-president on the history of Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine that started in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea.” It seems that the Trump camp did not expect this reaction from Zelenskyy, as “The officials had told their Ukrainian counterparts in advance of the meeting that Trump wanted to sign an economic partnership this week at a ministerial level, as aides worked on the details about security guarantees.”
Further, Trump seems to have seen Zelenskyy’s security concerns in contradiction with the deal he was proposing, as The Guardian reported:
“Trump saw the minerals deal as the first phase of a broader economic partnership and told aides it showed the US was effectively making a commitment on security guarantees, because the agreement deal would mean the US had a vested interest in Ukraine’s economic prosperity.”
Trump appears to be disappointed with Zelenskyy’s behavior at the meeting, as after the confrontation “Zelenskyy’s aides suggested that Trump meet with Zelenskyy one-on-one to calm tensions. But Trump officials declined the offer, according to two people familiar with the matter.” Trump views the prospect of further talks with Zelenskyy as “unproductive…because…Zelenskyy was unwilling to sign a peace agreement with Russia.”
However, according to The Guardian, “Trump officials said privately on Saturday that Trump still wants to sign the minerals deal,” which would allow a joint Ukrainian government and US government Investment Fund to monetize and earn income from “all relevant Ukrainian Government-owned natural resource assets (whether owned directly or indirectly by the Ukrainian Government).” The “resource assets” in the deal are currently defined as “deposits of minerals, hydrocarbons, oil, natural gas, and other extractable materials, and other infrastructure relevant to natural resource assets (such as liquified natural gas terminals and port infrastructure),” but “may be further described in the Fund Agreement.”
The Guardian concluded that “In the end, Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, informed the members of the Ukrainian delegation, who were waiting in the Roosevelt Room, that they needed to leave. Minutes later, Zelenskyy stepped into a black SUV that drove off the White.”
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