Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that Volodymyr Zelensky had previously refused a minerals deal twice with the US before the ill-fated Oval Office showdown with President Trump.
On Fox News' The Ingraham Angle, Bessent told host Laura Ingraham that Zelensky told him during a meeting in Kyiv that he wouldn't sign a mineral deal.
The proposed agreement, now seemingly on ice, would have exchanged billions of dollars in US aid funding for rare earths and other resources from Ukraine.
Trump's Ukraine envoy also revealed that Zelensky separately refused to close the deal with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
'This has to be one of the greatest diplomatic mishaps of all time by President Zelensky,' Bessent said on Friday.
Yesterday, Zelensky, Trump and Vance exploded into a heated argument in the Oval Office during what was intended to be peace talks regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump and Vance berated the Ukrainian president for being ungrateful to the United States for their aid during the war.
Bessent said to the outlet: 'It was supposed to be a great day and this is one of the biggest own goals in diplomatic history.'
'Today, I was shocked that he would behave like this on camera in front of the whole world,' he added.
Senator Eric Schmitt wrote on X: 'Zelensky could have signed the deal five days earlier but wanted to come to the White House. He'd been difficult for two weeks. Yet he wanted the White House meeting.
'Trump was upbeat about it even just the day before publicly and privately the day of. Although he could have reset the whole thing, Zelensky was antagonistic and over the top.'
'He had a one foot putt but was more interested in litigating issues that should be discussed behind closed doors (and have been) in public,' Schmitt concluded.
Trump posted on Truth Social shortly after the meeting and claimed Zelensky was 'not ready for peace.'
'We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today,' he wrote. 'Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure.'
Just earlier this week, Bessent denied claims that he was left shaking after a recent meeting with Zelensky and dismissed it as 'fake news.'
The Financial Times claimed Bessent was 'visibly flustered' after the meeting with 'his hands trembling.'
Zelensky had reportedly grown angry with Trump's finance chief for making demands to exchange mineral resources for more security funding and could be heard raising his voice outside of the room.
'He was very angry,' the source told the FT.
Bessent, however, disputed the claims as '100 percent fake news' spread by Zelensky's team, according to two sources who spoke to the DailyMail.com.
The sources said there was tension and disappointment in the room as they thought it was a 'done deal' with Zelensky but disputed the notion that Bessent was left shaking.
Video of Bessent's remarks with Zelensky after the meeting showed he was increasingly cautious, and his voice trembled as he spoke to reporters. He also appeared to be sweating as he spoke about future negotiations with Ukraine.
The exchange between Zelensky and Bessent kicked of several days of angry statements from the Ukrainian president and Trump that threatened to destroy any goodwill between the two countries.
After Trump criticized former President Joe Biden and accused Zelensky of triggering the war in Ukraine, Zelensky complained that Trump was living in a 'web of disinformation.'
Trump fired back, describing Zelensky as a 'modestly successful comedian' before becoming president and 'a Dictator without elections.'
'Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,' Trump warned, but added that the Ukrainian president 'probably wants to keep the 'gravy train going.'
But following the explosive exchange yesterday, resulting in Zelensky abruptly leaving the White House, it now remains unclear if the minerals deal can be salvaged.
Officials have said there are no current phone calls scheduled between Trump and Putin, CBS News reported.
The administration believes Zelensky has put himself in a terrible position, with Trump telling the Ukrainian leader during the live broadcast, 'You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now … You're gambling with the lives of millions of people.'
Trump also said: ‘It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this.'
The minerals deal was what Trump saw could be the progression towards peace, officials said that the President was ready to sign the deal himself.
There had already been premonitions of the deal falling apart after the Trump administration had been pushing for a minerals deal signing at the ministerial level for weeks.
Zelensky had refused twice previously to sign and wanted security guarantees in exchange.
Following the disastrous meeting yesterday, Ukrainian officials reached out the Senior White House officials in an attempt to get the deal back on track, CBS reported.
Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz told Zelensky he had made a tremendous mistake and done a disservice to Ukraine and Americans.
The White House is now unclear if they can get Russia and Ukraine to end the war, officials told the outlet, and said the Ukrainian leader needs to explicitly say he wants a ceasefire because it's now unclear if he would sign anything with Putin.
Zelensky, however, rejected the notion that he wouldn't sign a peace agreement with Putin to Fox News. He added that they would 'have negotiations' but reiterated Ukraine must have security guarantees.
'We are ready for peace but we have to be in a strong position,' Zelensky added.
The US has said Trump wanted to form an economic partnership with Ukraine before talking about security guarantees as part of a ceasefire, the officials told CBS.
Zelensky has said he believes his relationship with Trump is salvageable and wrote on X following their tense Oval Office meeting: 'Thank you, America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.'
