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.
.@MikeWaltz47: “A key part of this conversation was helping President Zelenskyy understand that this war needs to come to an end. This open-ended mantra that we’ve had under the Biden administration is over and a lot of people are having a hard time accepting that.” pic.twitter.com/lpOkgGztvT
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 20, 2025
“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.” […]
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