Trump blasts Zelensky over breached rare earth metals deal
U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that a deal involving rare earth metals and other resources had been breached by Ukraine two days prior. He referred to the Ukrainian president as a "dictator" and mocked that Volodymyr Zelensky could have attended the U.S. and Russia talks in Riyadh, but he wasn't invited.
During a speech in Miami at the Future Investment Institute (FII) event organized by Saudi Arabia, U.S. President Donald Trump repeated his grievances against the Ukrainian president. He accused Volodymyr Zelensky of dragging the U.S. into a "war that couldn't be won" and reiterated his opinion of him as a dictator primarily interested in American money.
Trump added another point to his list of grievances: accusing Zelensky of violating a deal that would have given the United States a 50% share of revenues from rare earth metals and other resources as compensation for the assistance provided so far.
While the United States gets nothing back, so they get their money back. And we had a deal based on rare earth and things, but they broke that deal… they broke it two days ago, Trump claimed.
On Sunday, Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the agreement presented by the American side. He stated that he prohibited his ministers from signing it because it did not protect Ukraine's interests.
Rare earth metals are vital for certain economic sectors, including the automotive, aerospace, and energy industries. Ukraine holds large deposits of lithium, often termed "white gold," which is used to produce batteries for phones, laptops, tablets, and vacuum cleaners.
Trump: Only I can end this war
U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz stated that this has been a source of "frustration" in Washington-Kyiv relations, and Americans "deserve" to receive compensation for the aid provided.
Trump once again—without basis—stated that Zelensky has low approval ratings in polls and mocked the Ukrainian president's demands to be at the negotiating table between the U.S. and Russia in Riyadh.
Today I heard, ‘oh, well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you’ve been there for three years ... You should have never started it. You could have made a deal," said the U.S. president.
He also assured that only he can bring about peace, and added that Vladimir Putin agrees with this opinion.
Besides discussing the war in Ukraine, Trump also covered other topics, including the work of Elon Musk's team DOGE. He suggested that, together with Musk, they are considering sending 20% of the money saved by DOGE's efforts in checks to all Americans and allocating another 20% to pay down public debt.
Trump: DOGE saved $55 billion
The American president claims that Musk's team saved $55 billion by canceling contracts, including foreign aid (according to "The New York Times" among others, these figures are greatly inflated), but in the long run, they will find "trillions" in savings. 20% of the $55 billion divided among the U.S. population would be about $35 per person.
He also announced "dramatic" tax cuts for families and businesses and tax relief for corporations, while imposing tariffs on many products—from cars to semiconductors to medications.
