US Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed in a televised interview that President Trump is "personally very upset at President Zelensky" over Ukraine's reaction to discussions on access to Ukraine's mineral wealth, for which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was dispatched to Kiev last week.
"We discussed this issue about the mineral rights, and we explained to them, look, 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," Rubio explained to Canadian journalist Catherine Herridge.
He described that Zelensky expressed openness to such a deal before apparently reversing course. Rubio said the Ukrainian leader conveyed that "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, they have to approve it."
"I read two days later that Zelensky is out there saying: I rejected the deal; I told them no way, that we’re not doing that. Well, that’s not what happened in that meeting. So, you start to get upset by somebody — we’re trying to help these guys," Rubio continued.
That's when the top US diplomat emphasized, "We're trying to help these guys. Ukraine doesn't directly impact the daily lives of Americans, there should be some gratitude here."
"When you see him accusing the President of disinformation, that's highly counterproductive. President Trump isn't going to take that. He's not going to get gamed," Rubio added. "He hopes Zelensky isn't trying to hustle the United States, that's not going to be productive here."
"I think President Trump is very upset with Zelensky, and rightfully so." Watch:
🚨NEW: Marco Rubio claims that President Zelenskyy acted two-faced with him and President Trump and warns him not to hustle the United States.
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) February 21, 2025
RUBIO: "We discussed mineral rights with Zelenskyy and said we want to be in a joint venture with you because we think we need a… pic.twitter.com/Tczl8KEnwl
President Trump "wants this war with Ukraine to end. And he wants to know: Are the Russians serious about ending the war, or not serious about ending the war?" Rubio said in the Thursday interview.
"The only way is to test them, to basically engage them and say, okay, are you serious about ending the war, and if so, what are your demands," he added.
While explaining he's "not a fan of most of what Vladimir Putin has done" - Rubio made clear that "We ultimately have to be able to talk to a nation that has, in some cases, the largest tactical nuclear weapons stockpile in the world, and the second largest, if not the largest, strategic nuclear weapons stockpile in the world."
"I don't think he's very important to be at meetings," Trump says of Zelensky.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) February 21, 2025
"Frankly I wish he didn't go there," he says of Treas Sec Scott Bessent. "It was a wasted trip."
Watch: President Trump spoke to Zelensky right after he hung up with Putin. Rubio was present for both phone calls. "To say that we have not consulted with them is not accurate, it’s not true."
Marco Rubio @SecRubio on US-Russia peace negotiations. President Trump spoke to Zelensky right after he hung up with Putin. Rubio was present for both phone calls. “To say that we have not consulted with them is not accurate, it’s not true.” Watch…
— NanLee Marie Carissimi (@NanLee1124) February 21, 2025
pic.twitter.com/d6aoB3X7Gk
The State Department recently described that such talks are ongoing, saying Trump and Putin appointed "respective high-level teams to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible," according to a statement.
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Watch the full interview below:
EXCLUSIVE: Our full, unedited interview with Secretary of State Marco Rubio(@SecRubio) on his first 30 days leading the Department.
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) February 21, 2025
Restarting U.S./Russia relations following the Biden Administration, direct engagement with Ukraine, U.S. proposal for Gaza, preventing Iranian… pic.twitter.com/cxkHmNZWw0