Ukraine president Volodymry Zelensky says no deal to end the war is legitimate without Ukraine’s participation. Yet no Ukrainian officials were present when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss an end to three years of war.
Regarding financial benefit for the U.S., Zelensky had expressed openness to a trade of Ukrainian minerals for U.S. security.
"If we are talking about a deal, then let's do a deal, we are only for it," Zelenskiy said, according to a Reuters report on Feb. 7.
Zelensky emphasized Ukraine's need for security guarantees from its allies as part of any settlement.
Last week, Zelensky instructed his ministers in talks with Vice President J.D. Vance in Munich not to sign off on a proposed agreement because he thought it was too one-sided, the Associated Press reported.
Matthew Tyrmand, a journalist and political strategist, said on American Family Radio Wednesday that Zelenskyy is “between a rock and a hard place."
President Donald Trump’s effort to earn back some of the cost – without committing U.S. troops to Ukraine – is “strategically brilliant," Tyrmand also observed.
Trump comments on X Wednesday make it sound like he and Zelenskyy won't be talking soon.
"A modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 billion to go into a war that couldn't be won, that never had to start, but a war that he, without the U.S. and TRUMP, will never be able to settle," the President wrote.
The U.S. has spent $200 billion more than Europe, Trump wrote. He adds that Zelensky admits "half the money we sent him is missing."
"Why didn't Sleepy Joe Biden demand equalization in that this war is far more important to Europe than it is to us?" Trump asked.
“The American perspective, that is being envisioned and executed by Trump is that we're into this for almost a quarter-trillion dollars, and we've gotten nothing but graft. There’s been graft from the military industrial complex, graft from the Ukrainian military and oligarchy, and so if we're going to stabilize the region and we're going to be proactive in that we're going to invest more of our capacity in doing so, we're going to get something for it,” Tyrmand told show host Jenna Ellis.
Idea of mining minerals came from Ukraine
Ukraine floated the idea of opening its critical minerals to investment by allies last autumn when it presented a "victory plan" that sought to put it in the strongest position for talks to force Moscow to the table.
The estimated value of rare earth minerals in Ukraine ranges from $3 trillion to $11.5 trillion.
About 20% percent of Ukrainian minerals are under Russian occupation, Reuters reported.
Without such an agreement those minerals will stay “stuck in the ground with nothing at all for your country, no job creation,” Tyrmand said.
“Those who partner with large-cap American industry, especially energy extraction, generally see an embedded and implicit security guarantee even without troops on the ground as America protects its interests,” he said.
Tyrmand said a minerals-for-security trade would spur economic growth and strengthen Ukrainian independence.
“You have the globalist Left and European hawks who have not invested any of their own capital, crying foul on this and saying, ‘No, we need American troops.' Well, that's not going to happen.”
Rubio said he and Lavrov agreed to appoint “high-level teams” to negotiate an end to the war “in a way that is enduring, sustainable and acceptable to all sides.”
Rubio said the European Union “is going to have to be at the table at some point,” according to The Associated Press. Ukraine is not a member of the EU.
Zelenskyy told NBC News on Sunday that he would “never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine” without Ukrainian representation in those discussions.
Rubio’s statements after Saudi Arabia left Ukraine’s role vague and unclear.
Rubio can handle this
With or without Zelenskyy, Rubio is well-equipped to represent American interests in the peace talks, Tyrmand said.
“He’s been on the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees for many, many years. He’s generally a hawk. He understands the threat of global communism as a Cuban from Miami. He doesn’t look at Russia the way Steve Bannon does, talking to Alexander Dugan, Putin’s adviser, all the time. Russia is not our friend.”
Sometimes adversaries have interests in working together. A prolonged Russian standoff at unlimited cost is not in the U.S. interests, Tyrmand said.
“It does not help us to inflame tensions and freeze economic trade in that part of the world because nobody benefits. The real politic here is trust but verify, like Reagan said. We don’t have the luxury of having these purity tests of diplomatic policy or geopolitics.”
