Trump to send U.S. Treasury Secretary to meet with Zelensky

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will visit Ukraine to meet with the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky (powers expired in May 2024). This was announced on February 11 by the American leader Donald Trump in the social network Truth Social.

"I will send Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Ukraine to meet with President Zelensky. This (conflict. - Ed.) must end soon - too much death and destruction. The U.S. has spent billions of dollars around the world but has had little to show for it. When America is strong, peace prevails in the world," Trump wrote.

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Earlier on Feb. 11, Bloomberg reported that Bessent will visit Kiev this week to discuss Washington's access to the country's critical minerals with Ukrainian authorities. He will be the first official from the U.S. presidential administration to travel to Ukraine.

The day before, on February 10, Trump said that Washington would not help Kiev for free, and that the United States expected to get access to Ukraine's rare earth metals as a response to the assistance.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed out on February 6 that Trump's words offering assistance to Kiev in return for Ukraine's rare-earth metals sounded more like an "aport" command than a deal.

The special operation to protect Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.