President Donald Trump wants roughly $500 billion worth of Ukraine's rare earth
Trump designed a 'win-win' situation for the US and Ukraine, says Treasury Secretary Bessent
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discusses his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy, the state of the United States economy and the Trump administration's tariff policy on 'Special Report.'
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Donald Trump is creating a "win-win" partnership between the United States and Ukraine as discussions deepen over access to the country’s rare earth minerals.
Bessent sat down with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier for an interview Tuesday from the Cash Room at the Treasury Department days after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
"Part of my trip was to go and tell the Ukrainian people that we wanted an economic partnership with them," he said on "Special Report."
"So, President Trump's vision is — [to] bring the Ukrainian people and the American people closer together economically, show the Ukrainian people that we support them, show the American people that the money that is going into Ukraine, that there is going to be a return, that there's going to be a long-term partnership."
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) and US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent (R) give a press conference during their meeting in Kyiv on February 12, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (TETIANA DZHAFAROVA/AFP via Getty Images)
The United States has sent billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion nearly three years ago.
The Trump administration is seeking to recoup the cost of aid sent to the war-torn country by gaining access to rare earth minerals like titanium, iron and uranium.
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Bessent gave Zelenskyy a document when they met last week that reportedly proposed the United States being granted 50% ownership of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
Zelenskyy declined to sign the proposed agreement, telling the Associated Press in Munich that it didn't provide enough security guarantees for his country.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a briefing with press on July 8, 2023 in Lviv, Ukraine. (Mykola Tys/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
"I didn’t let the ministers sign a relevant agreement because, in my view, it is not ready to protect us, our interest," Zelenskyy said. "For me [it] is very important the connection between some kind of security guarantees and some kind of investment."
A major roadblock in the rare earth negotiations is the location of some of the minerals, which are in Russian-occupied areas in eastern Ukraine.
Bessent said he believes Zelenskyy will come around to the proposal because it’s a long-term agreement that's "very beneficial to their security."
"It pulls Ukrainian and the American interests closer together. It's a very strong signal to the Russians that we take our interest in Ukraine very seriously," he said, adding that the American people will know they are getting a return on investment if the Trump administration sends more money to Ukraine.
People take shelter in a metro station in Kyiv, Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Air raid sirens rang out in downtown Kyiv today as cities across Ukraine were hit with what Ukrainian officials said were Russian missile strikes and artillery. (Photo by VIACHESLAV RATYNSKYI/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) (Photo by VIACHESLAV RATYNSKYI/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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"When this conflict ends, it will act as a deterrent to further Russian aggression," the treasury secretary claimed, citing U.S. interests on the ground.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz met with high-ranking Russian officials in Saudi Arabia to discuss steps to end Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war. Ukraine was not invited to the negotiations.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second left, meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi National Security Advisor Mosaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, third left, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, left, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, second right, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday Feb. 18, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP) (Associated Press)
Trump on Tuesday responded to criticism that Ukraine wasn’t at the meeting in Riyadh, taking aim at Zelenskyy for not negotiating a deal since the full-scale invasion began.
"Well, you’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it — three years. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal," he told reporters.
Ashley Carnahan is a writer at Fox News Digital.
