Zelenskyy open to meeting Trump again, sign economic deal, but Treasury Secretary says deal not on agenda now

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated he would be willing to meet with Donald Trump again if the US president invites him.

The statement comes after a contentious meeting between the two leaders on 28 February that was initially intended to finalize a minerals deal in exchange for US support. However, the meeting devolved into a heated argument and ended without an agreement being reached

US Vice President JD Vance subsequently criticized the Ukrainian leader as “disrespectful” and suggested his stance was hindering peace efforts.

During the White House press conference, Trump told Zelenskyy that he “should be grateful” and accused Ukraine of “playing with World War III.” At one point, Trump reportedly stated, “either you make a deal or we’re out.”

The Ukrainian president acknowledged that conducting such discussions in public was not beneficial for either country but expressed confidence that “the situation will pass and more important things are ahead.”

However, in an interview with Fox News, Zelenskyy said he did not consider it necessary to apologize to Trump but emphasized his respect for the American people.

“We are worthy of an equal dialog,” Zelenskyy said on 2 March, following his participation in a London security summit, according to Bloomberg. 

He stated that if invited “for a constructive dialog, to solve real problems, for serious issues and real, decisive actions and answers — I will arrive,” according to the provided report.

Zelenskyy also confirmed Ukraine’s readiness to proceed with a natural resources agreement with the United States, which remained unsigned following the Oval Office dispute.

“There is a final version (of the agreement), it is ready. It can be signed by ministers,” Zelenskyy said, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine. He added that “regardless of what happened before, we are constructive.”

US-Ukraine economic agreement off the table currently

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the proposed economic agreement about minerals between the United States and Ukraine is currently off the table following last week’s contentious Oval Office meeting.

“Not at present,” Bessent told CBS’s Margaret Brennan when asked directly if the deal remained available.

“All President Zelensky had to do was come in and sign this economic agreement and again show no daylight, no daylight between Ukrainian people and the American people, and he chose to blow that up,” Bessent told CBS News.

Bessent clarified that the agreement was broader than just minerals, describing it as a “general economic agreement” that was intended to “further intertwine the American people and Ukrainian people and show no daylight” to Russian leadership.

The Treasury Secretary emphasized that an economic agreement without progress toward peace would be impractical.

“It is impossible to have an economic deal without a peace deal. The sine qua non for an economic deal is that Ukrainian leadership wants a peace deal,” he stated on the program.

Bessent also addressed concerns about security guarantees for Ukraine, suggesting that “the plan is for the European Union to provide this security, not NATO, the European Union.”