Mike Waltz, the national security advisor to President Donald Trump, believes that the United States deserves compensation for the billions invested in Ukraine, and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "should be very wise," according to Bloomberg.
"The American people deserve reimbursement, they deserve some form of compensation for the billions they have invested in this war. I think Zelensky would be very wise to reach this agreement with the United States," Waltz stated.
Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Waltz referred to the agreement as "a safeguard in itself." I can't think of a better security guarantee than joint investment with President Trump.
According to him, the U.S. has borne "the main burden" of supporting Ukraine.
The publication, citing two individuals familiar with the discussions, noted that the U.S. offered Ukraine a unilateral agreement to ensure access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals post-war, but did not guarantee that Ukraine would be allowed to participate in peace talks between the U.S. and Russia regarding the cessation of hostilities.
It was also mentioned that Waltz will be among those visiting Saudi Arabia to meet with Russian officials for peace negotiations.
As reported, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessen visited Ukraine on February 13 and delivered an agreement regarding rare earth materials. It later emerged that under this agreement, Ukrainian authorities would transfer 50% of rare earth metals to the U.S. as compensation for the assistance provided to the country, with Trump estimating the value of the deal at $500 billion.
This document was discussed during Zelensky's meeting with Vice President J.D. Vance at the Munich Security Conference on February 15, but it was not signed due to the position of the Ukrainian side.
"Agreements are signed at the ministerial level, but I am the president and will influence the quality of this document, so I will not allow the ministers to sign the relevant agreement because it is not yet ready to protect our interests," Zelensky told reporters following the Munich conference. He stated that the agreement must include security guarantees from the U.S.
At the same time, the American side believes that the mere fact of U.S. companies' investments will serve as such a guarantee.
Brian Hughes, a representative of the White House National Security Council, expressed the opinion on Sunday, as reported by AP, that Zelensky "is being shortsighted regarding the wonderful opportunity that the Trump administration has provided to Ukraine."
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-16/trump-aide-says-americans-deserve-payback-for-ukraine-support?srnd=homepage-europe
https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-us-zelenskyy-agreement-trump-minerals-4d5eefcc44c9f17f330db98d81720b29