US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should apologize after his meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office turned into what Rubio described as a "fiasco", as he questioned whether the Ukrainian leader truly wants peace in the country's war with Russia.
"He should apologize for wasting our time with a meeting that ended this way, " Rubio said in an interview with CNN.
He added that " United States President Donald Trump does not see it possible to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine without first reaching a peace agreement."
"Why should I talk about security guarantees for Ukraine? First, let me reach a peace agreement," Rubio said, echoing Trump's position.
“This does not mean ,” he added, “ that guarantees cannot be included as part of the negotiations, but first there must be an agreement. What peace is there to guarantee if there is not yet a peace agreement?”
Russian news agency Tass, citing a White House official, said Trump is not interested in renegotiating the rare earth minerals deal with Ukraine at the moment. According to the official, representatives of the Ukrainian delegation “began begging” to sign the deal immediately after they were asked to leave the White House.
The Interfax news agency also reported that Trump said Ukraine should be led by someone who is ready for peace after the clash in the Oval Office.