Zelensky criticizes Bessent's approach: Fossil fuel deal must benefit all parties

The head of state said this during a conversation with journalists, Ukrinform reports.

“If we are talking about partnership and parity, we say that we are partners, and we will have such a fund, and this is great. And we want 50/50. So let's invest 50/50. You want 50/50? Yes. And what is the priority of the United States? The fact that we are doing this on our land. And this is absolutely normal. You bring the technology, we provide the production, we invest money together. Jobs, production. Our people earn money, your companies earn money with technologies that are not available in Ukraine. All of them. And this can be a success. And the agreement will be serious, and it will be ratified in the parliament. I am just defending what belongs to Ukraine. It should be beneficial to both the United States and Ukraine. This is the right thing to do,” Zelensky said.

In this context, he criticized U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's approach to the deal.

“I think Bessent's problems are in his approach. And what he came with, he said: “You have to sign this now”. I'm not going to hide it - I have different traits, just like every person. My colleagues know that it's wrong to point a finger at a contract and say, “You have to sign it now” - and I could only tell him, “Stop pointing and let's talk about the substance.” He was probably expecting a different dialog, but I don't consider Ukraine a third-rate country. I believe that we should communicate on equal terms, despite the fact that I am the President and he is not. I believe that he is an American citizen, I am a citizen of Ukraine. And we have to behave with respect for each other,” the head of state said.

He also said that the first meeting of the negotiation teams scheduled for Washington regarding this agreement would be technical.

“This will be one of the discussions. It is important. Because we will be ready to talk about the principles on which we are ready to base the future agreement. This is a technical group, most likely headed by Deputy Economy Minister Kachka. And there will be representatives of other ministries,” the President added.

As reported by Ukrinform, the delegations of Ukraine and the United States planned to sign a bilateral agreement on establishing the rules and conditions of the investment fund for reconstruction on February 28. This was supposed to be a framework document, and the countries were to work on an agreement on the establishment of the Reconstruction Investment Fund, which would require ratification by the Verkhovna Rada. However, the agreement was not signed. Later, the United States presented an expanded version of this agreement. According to the Office of the President of Ukraine, the agreement between Ukraine and the United States on rare earth metals is already being worked on by the Ukrainian side. It should not contradict the legislation and interests of Ukraine. At the same time, the document does not mention security guarantees from the partners.