‘It gives President Trump more negotiating leverage. So if the Russians don’t like it, my view is Ukrainians should’
By Joe Kovacs
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is “hopeful” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will sign a rare earth minerals deal with President Donald Trump this week, adding that “the Russians hate this deal.”
Appearing on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox News Channel, Bessent said: “Common to a lot of misperceptions, the Russians hate this deal.”
“The morning that I arrived in Ukraine to get into Kyiv … you fly to Poland, you take a 10- hour night if train in. The Russians, unfortunately, bombed Kyiv. There was a missile barrage four hours before I got there.
“It was the first time that such a barrage had a taken place since November. So I think that was a strong signal from Russian leadership that they don’t like this deal because it gives President Trump more negotiating leverage.
“So if the Russians don’t like it, my view is Ukrainians should.”