US Secretary of State says:

Trump is “very upset” about Zelenskyi

The tone between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump has recently been rather gruff.

(Bild: AFP/UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/Handout)

The US government is defending itself against accusations from the EU and Ukraine that the respective governments were not contacted or kept informed in the run-up to the first high-level meeting between representatives of Russia and the United States. "That is not correct," emphasized US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an interview on Thursday. At the same time, he noted that President Donald Trump was "very upset" about his Ukrainian counterpart.

The USA was concerned about Ukraine "because it has an impact on our allies and ultimately the world. There should be a certain amount of gratitude here," Rubio wrote on the online platform X after the interview with investigative journalist Catherine Herridge. Trump had previously referred to Selensky as a "dictator without elections". Trump was apparently very angry about the Ukrainian head of state's statement that the US president was living in a "Russian disinformation bubble".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was already negotiating with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

(Bild: Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Kevin Dietsch)

Martial law and elections in Ukraine
What Trump is ignoring, however, is that the Ukrainian constitution does not permit elections in times of war. Martial law has been in force in Ukraine since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion three years ago. In addition, many people have fled the country and would find it difficult to take part in an election. Russia has also occupied or annexed part of Ukraine. Citizens there would also be excluded from voting.

Rubio: "Ukrainians and Europe were informed"
Rubio said in an interview with Herridge (see below) that Washington "involved the Ukrainians throughout the process and also explained our intentions". "I spoke to the Europeans on the phone immediately after the meeting in Saudi Arabia." The former senator from Florida explained that it was "simply not yet time" for everyone to sit around a negotiating table and that details such as territories and security guarantees had not yet been discussed. They had merely wanted to see whether there was a serious interest in peace talks.

The US Secretary of State also recalled the fact that even former President Joe Biden had repeatedly been "frustrated" with the leadership in Kiev, as they had not shown any gratitude, but had repeatedly made new demands and publicly declared "what they were not getting from the USA".

Raw materials agreement: Selenskyj has rejected US offer
Rubio also spoke about the raw materials agreement currently being negotiated between Kiev and Washington and expressed his own frustration with the Ukrainians. A security guarantee or military support in return for rare earths is still in limbo after an initial US offer was rejected by Selensky. 

In the meantime, the Trump administration has sent a new draft agreement to Kiev, the US news portal "Axios" reported. Some points that were unacceptable to Ukraine have been changed, according to sources involved in the negotiation process. Zelenskyi should return to the negotiating table, demanded Trump's security advisor Mike Waltz. "These are negotiations. And in negotiations you negotiate." There could be no better guarantee for Ukraine than US investment in its long-term prosperity.