The White House has stated that Kyiv needs to lower the level of criticism and sign the agreement on rare earth metals, which US President Donald Trump insists on, reports Tengrinews.kz citing Deutsche Welle.
This was announced by Mike Waltz, advisor to the American leader on national security, during an appearance on Fox News.
"They need to tone it down, take a close look (at the situation - ed.) and sign this deal," he said, noting that the American administration feels a sense of disappointment.
According to him, this sentiment is shared not only by Trump but also by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessen, who visited Kyiv.
The rejection of the agreement by Ukraine and the way the American leader conducts peace talks, along with "negative remarks in the media," are simply unacceptable, considering all that the United States has done for Kyiv, he added.
At the same time, Trump does not view the disagreements between the US and Ukraine as irreconcilable, stated the advisor to the White House chief.
"The president also said how much he loves the Ukrainian people," quotes him "Voice of America".
He also responded to comments about the negotiations concerning Ukraine being held without the involvement of Kyiv and European allies.
"There is a term in diplomacy for this. It’s called shuttle diplomacy because gathering everyone at one table in the past hasn’t worked. So, we engaged one side, we engaged the other side, and then we are going to advance the process under the guidance and management of President Trump," Waltz summarized.
DW reminded that the deal on rare earth metals was proposed to Trump by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in November 2024. In February, Kyiv presented US Treasury Secretary Bessen with a "partnership agreement," which implied the possibility of joint extraction of such minerals in Ukraine, granting the US priority access to the deposits.
Bessen himself stated during a meeting in Kyiv on February 12 that Washington wants to conclude an economic agreement with Ukraine in exchange for continued "material support for the Ukrainian people" from the US.
The Trump administration's proposal to Ukraine regarding access to rare earth metals went far beyond mineral extraction, covering oil, gas, ports, and other infrastructure, media reported. The White House wanted the US to take half of Ukraine's current revenues from resource extraction, as well as half of the value of all new resource extraction licenses issued to third parties.
Zelensky refused to sign the document, explaining that it lacks "specific provisions on security guarantees."
Waltz's comments came the day after a sharp exchange of critical statements between Trump and Zelensky.
The Ukrainian leader responded to the White House chief's statements that his support among the population allegedly stands at four percent and that the country needs elections. In particular, Zelensky stated that Trump has fallen victim to Russian disinformation. He added that if someone wants to "replace him right now," then "it won't happen right now."
After that, Trump once again spoke out against the Ukrainian president, calling him a "dictator without elections," pointing out that he "needs to act quickly, otherwise he will have no country left."
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