Zelenskyy on talks with Bessent: I told him to stop tapping contract with his finger
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s words that Ukraine should have signed the rare earth metals agreement before the Ukrainian President’s visit to the White House. Zelenskyy believes that Bessent has taken the wrong approach to negotiations.
He said this at a meeting with journalists, Censor.NET reports citing Suspilne.
"I believe Mr. Bessent's problem lies in his approach. He told me, ‘You have to sign this now.’ I won’t hide it: I have different traits, like everyone here. My colleagues know that tapping a contract with your finger and saying, ‘Sign it now’ — the only thing I could say to him was, ‘Stop tapping your finger and let’s have a substantive conversation.’ Apparently, he expected a different kind of dialogue. But I do not consider Ukraine a third-rate country. I believe we should be speaking as equals," Zelenskyy said.
Earlier, Bessent reportedly claimed that the Ukrainians were "begging" for a visit to the White House, and that Zelenskyy "ruined everything" in Washington.
Zelenskyy also responded to Bessent’s remark that the President is "stuck" in his heroic role and is not receiving good advice from his advisers.
"That morning (on the day of the meeting with Bessent in Kyiv on February 12 - ed.), I had two dialogues - with the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister. Why only with the two of them? Because they had two meetings with Bessent before I did. So I asked their teams to familiarize me with the positive and negative aspects of this document. And they told me briefly, not everything, but it was enough for me to realize that it was not ready yet," Zelenskyy said.
Earlier, it was reported that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent believes that the minerals deal proposed by the US to Ukraine is beneficial for both countries. He hopes to sign it in the near future.
