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In a Compromised News Network (CNN) interview Sunday, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said that the idea the Trump administration "ambushed" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was "absolutely false" and that it was Z's demeanor and behavior during the meeting that mucked things up. Even Zelensky's body language, his arms crossed tightly across his chest, his facial expressions and the like, gave a message of contempt for Trump and JD Vance, and it was this that derailed the event.
Waltz made the remarks to Dana Bash on “State of the Union” when asked about how things could get back on track between the United States and Ukraine after the blowup in the Oval Office on Friday.
“What was so, I think, stunning to all of us in the Oval Office was that it was not clear Zelensky was going to go to negotiations at all, that he would ever be able to negotiate with Putin, and whether he shared our goal of ending this war,” Waltz said.
“So, what I made clear, as Secretary Rubio and I said, look, this cannot proceed, was that this was a huge missed opportunity for him and for his country,” he added.
Waltz explained that Zelensky could have left the meeting on Friday with a deal in hand as he went back to Europe to meet with President Macron of France and with Prime Minister Starmer of the United Kingdom “where they were talking about European boots on the ground, security guarantees for Ukraine, a positive movement towards ending this war, and having Ukraine and the United States being bound together for a generation economically.”
He said the President was clear that Zelensky will be welcomed back to the White House when he is “ready to truly engage for peace.” It was not clear to the Trump administration that he wanted to negotiate an end to the war with Russia and that Zelensky's “demands of security guarantees” were a potential roadblock.
“And, further, coming to the Oval Office, with the body language, the shaking of head, the kind of the arms crossed, we just found it incredibly disrespectful,” he said. “We were ready to sign that deal.”
“I want to address directly that this was some type of ambush,” he continued. “It is absolutely false. We had negotiated the minerals deal in the weeks prior. It was difficult, but it was done and finalized and ready to be signed in the East Room.”
This is not the first time Zelensky has rejected the minerals deal with Trump. In fact, it was the third time and the administration was simply fed up with the Ukrainian leader's attitude and his lying.
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