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The Ukrainian leader flip-flopped on a proposed mineral resource deal with the US, the secretary of state has said
US President Donald Trump is “very upset” with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing a disagreement over a proposed mineral rights deal.
In a sign of growing tensions between the US and Ukraine, Trump on Wednesday branded Zelensky a “dictator without elections,” accusing him of mismanaging the conflict with Russia and misusing American aid.
Zelensky, whose presidential term ended last spring, has refused to hold a new election, citing martial law. Moscow deems Zelensky illegitimate, insisting that legal authority now lies with the Ukrainian parliament.
In an interview with Canadian-American journalist Catherine Herridge on Thursday, Rubio said he believes that “President Trump is very upset at President Zelensky – and rightfully so.”
The secretary added that he “was personally very upset” with the conversation top US officials had with the Ukrainian leader over a prospective deal that would grant the US access to Ukraine’s vast mineral resources, suggesting that Zelensky flip-flopped on the issue.
According to Rubio, the Americans tried to reassure Zelensky that “we want to be in a joint venture with you – not because we’re trying to steal from your country, but because we think that’s actually a security guarantee,” while stressing that the US wants to get back some of the money it had spent to support Kiev.
“He said, sure, we want to do this deal; it makes all the sense in the world – the only thing is I need to run it through my legislative process… I read two days later that Zelensky is out there saying: I rejected the deal,” Rubio said, adding: “that’s not what happened in that meeting.”
The diplomat argued that “there should be some level of gratitude” from Ukraine. “When you don’t see it and you see him out there accusing the president of living in a world of disinformation, that’s… very counterproductive.” Rubio was referring to Zelensky’s response to Trump’s claim that the Ukrainian leader’s current approval rating is 4%.
Zelensky has not directly addressed Trump’s “dictator” remarks. However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga stressed that “the Ukrainian people and their President Zelensky refused to give in to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s pressure,” adding that “nobody can force Ukraine to give up.”
Commenting on the feud between Zelensky and Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested that officials in Kiev are making “absolutely unacceptable statements about other states,” adding that the downfall of Zelensky’s popularity is an “absolutely obvious trend.”
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