President Donald Trump has clarified the details of his discussion with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their meeting at Pope Francis’ funeral.
Shortly after finalizing a minerals agreement with Ukraine, the 78-year-old Republican spoke to NewsNation, where he was questioned about the true purpose of the ‘historic’ 15-minute meeting on Friday (April 26).
A photo of the two leaders became widely circulated, showing them seated opposite each other on chairs inside St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
Four days following their discussion, the US and Ukraine announced a natural resources agreement. This agreement involves the Trump administration setting up a reconstruction investment fund, which will facilitate Ukraine’s collaboration with its western ally in rebuilding its heavily damaged infrastructure.
In exchange, Ukraine will share any profits and royalties from any future sale of its 2.5-billion-year-old rare earth minerals.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal emphasized that the deal is fair for Ukraine, allowing the country to retain full control over its natural resources. He added that the deal ensures the US would profit only from new investments.
Discussing the prominent meeting with Zelenskyy, Trump stated: “I was telling him that it’s a very good thing if we can produce a deal that you sign it, because Russia is much bigger and much stronger. Russia is just chugging forward. It’s a big, strong country.”
He further criticized his predecessor Joe Biden while asserting that the US military is stronger than Russia’s.
Host Bill O’Reilly interrupted, trying to steer Trump back to the topic: “You got the deal with Zelenskyy on the minerals. That means the United States is going to have a presence in Ukraine. Is that going to inhibit Putin, do you think?”
The president replied: “Well it could. The reason I did that is that we’re in for $350 billion or close to it, whereas Europe is only in it for $100 billion.
“I felt very foolish. You know, they they loaned the money and Biden handed them $350 billion, between cash and military equipment – $350 billion we got nothing.
“And I felt very bullish being the head of the country where Europe gets their money back, and it’s a much smaller amount, and we get nothing.”
However, Trump did not provide evidence to substantiate his claim that the US has given Ukraine $350 billion in aid since the conflict began in February 2022.
Reported figures are significantly lower, with the US Department of State stating it has provided $182.8 billion in support to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the Kiel Institute, a German-based non-profit that tracks support to Ukraine, estimates that figure at $119.7 billion.
Overall, Europe has invested more money in Ukraine than the US, according to the institute.
Trump continued: “So I went to them and said, ‘Look, we got to get rare earth’. They have great rare earth, meaning certain minerals, materials – they have things that a lot of places don’t have, it’s a big asset that they have.”