Mike Waltz Says Zelensky ‘Needs to Come Back to the Table’ on Rare Earth Mineral Negotiations

WASHINGTON – National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said Thursday that President Volodymyr Zelensky must return to the negotiating table regarding a rare earth minerals deal that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said would give long-term security to Ukrainians.

Waltz, who appeared at Thursday’s briefing with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, fielded a question about where the deal stands after Zelensky rejected the first proposal.

“He needs to come back to the table, and we’re going to continue to have discussions about where that deal is going. Again, we have an obligation to the taxpayer. I think this is an opportunity. The President thinks this is an opportunity for Ukraine going forward,” Waltz said.

“There can be, in my view, nothing better for Ukraine’s future and for their security than to have the United States invested in their prosperity long term. And then a key piece of this has also been security guarantees,” he added.

Waltz further stressed that the war between Russia and Ukraine must come to a close, and the “open-ended mantra” the Biden administration took toward the war is “over.”

“This kind of open-ended mantra that we’ve had under the Biden administration, that’s over. And I think a lot of people are having a hard time accepting that,” he said.

“And then the other piece is there’s been discussions from Prime Minister Starmer and President Macron about European-led security guarantees. We welcome that. We’ve been asking Europe to step up and defend its own prosperity, safety, and security,” he added.

Speaking at another point in the briefing, Waltz said the offer the U.S. is making in the proposed mineral deal is a “historic opportunity… for America to co-invest with Ukraine in their minerals, in their resources to truly grow the pie.”

“Rather than enter into some constructive conversations about what that deal should be going forward, we got a lot of rhetoric in the media that was incredibly unfortunate,” he went on to add.

Bessent met with Zelensky in Kyiv last week and said the deal, if made, would “provide a long-term security shield for all Ukrainians.”