US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Thursday interview that President Donald Trump has become “very upset” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
When asked by Canadian journalist Catherine Herridge about his thoughts on Trump calling Zelensky a “dictator without elections,” Rubio hinted that Trump was upset because he thought Zelensky had been ungrateful for US support.
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“I think President Trump is very upset at President Zelensky and – and some – and rightfully so… There are newspaper articles out there about how [Joe Biden] cursed at him in a phone call because Zelensky, instead of saying thank you for all your help, is immediately out there messaging what we’re not doing or what he’s not getting,” Rubio said, according to a transcript of the interview released by the State Department.
Rubio did not, however, address Trump’s accusation of Ukraine’s lack of elections in his answer.
Trump has claimed that Zelensky was a dictator because of the lack of elections in Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion, though elections are prohibited in Ukraine during martial law. This was written into the Ukrainian Constitution in 2015 under the previous Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko.
Rubio also said Zelensky’s comment that Trump “lives in disinformation space” is “very counterproductive” considering the US’s support for Ukraine despite the lack of direct impact from the war on the US, adding that Trump is “very transparent” about his feelings.
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On a “rare earth” deal
Speaking about his personal opinion on Zelensky, Rubio said he too is upset because Zelensky did not sign the rare earth proposal offered by the Trump administration.
“I think the second thing is, frankly, I was personally very upset because we had a conversation with President Zelensky – the Vice President and I, the two – three of us. And we discussed this issue about the mineral rights, and we explained to them, look, we want to be in a joint venture with you – not because we’re trying to steal from your country, but because we think that’s actually a security guarantee,” Rubio said, referring to discussions between them during the Munich Security Conference.
A leaked document purportedly outlining the deal’s details states half of Ukraine’s revenue from gas, minerals and other infrastructure is to be given to the US under a joint fund without any clear provision on security guarantees. A new deal is reportedly in the works.
“If we’re your partner in an important economic endeavor, we get to get paid back some of the money the taxpayers have given – close to $200 billion. And it also – now we have a vested interest in the security of Ukraine,” Rubio added.
The figure quoted by Rubio is closer to official US figures and is lower than the $350 billion figure frequently quoted by Trump in recent remarks.
Rubio also suggested that his conversation with Zelensky went differently than what was later made public.
“And he [Zelensky] said, sure, we want to do this deal; it makes all the sense in the world – the only thing is I need to run it through my legislative process, they have to approve it. I read two days later that Zelensky is out there saying: I rejected the deal; I told them no way, that we’re not doing that,” Rubio said.
“Well, that’s not what happened in that meeting. So, you start to get upset by somebody – we’re trying to help these guys.”
Zelensky’s redlines
Herridge also asked Rubio if the Trump administration consulted on Kyiv’s redlines for any peace settlements, to which Rubio did not directly answer.
Rubio said Zelensky had met with multiple high-ranking US officials – including himself – who explained “very clearly” to Zelensky Washington’s position on peace talks without addressing whether the discussions involved asking for Kyiv’s redlines.
“So, they – we talked to the Ukrainians throughout this process, and we explained to them very clearly what our intentions were in terms of pursuing this. In fact, the President of the United States spoke to Zelenskyy right after he hung up with Putin,” Rubio said.
“I was in the office for both phone calls. So, to say that we haven’t consulted with them is not accurate. It’s not true,” he added.
Rubio said he also consulted European leaders.
“It’s also not true that we haven’t consulted with our allies in Europe. I personally spoke to the five foreign ministers right after my meeting with the Russians and walked them through what had happened. We talked to them before those meetings, the same five, plus the G7, plus the EU and all the other meetings we had in Munich,” Rubio added.
Rubio reportedly told European leaders that the talks in Riyadh between the US and Russia – without Europe’s participation – do not represent an abrupt departure from American policies.
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