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White House National Security Advisor Mike Walz also criticizes Kiev for insulting the US president.
US President's National Security Advisor Donald Trump has asked Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski to return to negotiations over critical minerals who have made a deal with the United States against a deepening break between Washington and Kiev.
Zelenskyy on Wednesday rejected US plans to conclude a deal for a share of Ukraine's mineral wealth to pay Washington for wartime help, saying that the United States does not offer specific security guarantees in the agreement.
“He has to return to the table,” Mike Waltz said to Zelenski at a press briefing on Thursday.
“President Trump is obviously very disappointed with President Zelenski at the moment, the fact that he did not come to the table, that he is not ready to take advantage of the opportunity we have offered,” he said.
The comments came shortly after the United States canceled a planned press conference with Zelenski and US envoy in Kiev.
The Ukrainian leader had planned to turn to the media with Lieutenant General Keith KellogeUS Messenger for UkraineAfter talks in Kyiv on Thursday.
“At the request of the US side, the format of the meeting provides for the record of protocols and does not include statements or questions,” Ukrainian spokesman of President Sergius Nikiforov told reporters.
Photographers and video journalists were released into the room as the two men shake hands and sat from each other at a table.
There was no immediate word on both sides of the result of the conversations.
Later, Zelenski said in a statement that he had a “good and detailed” conversation with Kelloge about possible agreements with the United States on issues such as security and investment.
“We must and can guarantee that peace is strong and durable – so Russia can never return with war,” Zelenski wrote in social media.
“Ukraine is ready for a strong, effective investment and security agreement with the President of the United States. We have offered the fastest and most constructive way to achieve results. Our team is ready to work 24/7. “
The conversations came after US President Donald Trump made a series of neglectful remarks about Zelenski, marking him “dictator” and suggested that Ukraine was to blame for the war This has begun When Russia began a full -scale invasion in February 2022, in response, Zelenski said Trump lived in a “misinformation space”.
“Some of the rhetoric coming out of Kiev, to be honest, and the insults of President Trump were unacceptable,” Valtz said on Thursday, apparently referring to these comments.
Trump's comments about war caused outrage in EuropeWhere the leaders said they had incorrectly characterized the war and question the United States as a reliable security partner. Trump has long said that the United States has contributed too much to European security and that more than the burden should be taken over by European countries.
The US president says he wants to restore his ties with Russia and the years of US foreign policy this week by sending several employees to meet Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.
Vice president JD VANCE He defended Trump's approach in a television interview on Thursday, calling him an “effective negotiator” who “does not take down anything from the table.”
“I really believe we are at the top of peace in Europe for the first time in three years,” Vance added.
