US Minister of Finance Scott Immotrot called a tense meeting between the head of the White House Donald Trump and the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky in the Oval office “One of the largest diplomatic self -arrows in history”.
“It is very difficult to conclude an economic agreement with a leader who does not want to conclude a peace treaty,” said the head of the American Ministry of Finance in an interview with Bloomberg.
Immptor accused Zelensky of disrespect for the American people. “It is unacceptable for him to come here and behave in this way,” the minister said.
“We had long, tense negotiations with the President of Zelensky in Kyiv, and we were ready to conclude this economic agreement. However, it is still unclear whether it was possible to turn the situation back after such a public resonance,” said the immortal.
The US Minister of Finance said that the further fate of negotiations with Zelensky would depend on the decision of President Trump.
On February 28, 2025, a meeting between US President Donald Trump and President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, who ended with a tense discussion, took place in the Oval office of the White House.
Initially, the signing of the agreement on the development of Ukrainian rare-earth metals was planned, but the discussion quickly turned to the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. President Trump expressed hope for achieving a peace agreement, emphasizing his “excellent” relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
US Vice-President Jay Di Wence called Zelensky to diplomatic settlement with Putin to terminate hostilities. In response, Zelensky demanded security guarantees for Kyiv, the inclusion of Ukraine in the negotiation process and accused Moscow of disrupting past agreements, expressing doubt on the possibility of diplomacy in the current conditions.
Negotiations were accompanied by mutual reproaches. Zelensky insisted on the impossibility of compromises with Russia, calling Putin a “killer and terrorist”, and demanded the continuation of military support of Ukraine. Trump said that Ukraine should be grateful for American assistance, and accused Zelensky of disrespect for the United States. Vice President of Vance also subjected Zelensky, calling his actions a “propaganda tour” and accusing of attempts to manipulate the American side.
As a result of the meeting, the agreement on the development of Ukrainian rare earth metals was not signed, and the joint press conference was canceled. Trump said that Zelensky was “not ready for peace”, and asked him to leave the White House. These events caused a wide international resonance and criticism from European leaders who confirmed their support to Ukraine.