National security adviser Mike Waltz warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday to “tone it down” when it came to his “unacceptable” criticism of President Trump.
Zelensky, 47, has lashed out at Trump, 78, for excluding Kyiv from US-Russia talks held in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and batted down a reported offer for Washington to take 50% ownership of Ukraine’s rare-earth deposits valued at $500 billion.
“For all the administration has done in his first term … and all the United States has done for Ukraine — is just, it’s unacceptable,” Waltz said in a morning appearance on “Fox & Friends.”
“They need to tone it down,” the former Florida Republican congressman added, “and take a hard look and sign that deal.”
In an afternoon White House press briefing, Waltz said Zelensky had lobbed “insults” at the American president.
Waltz also claimed that the proposed rare-earths deal had included “the best security guarantee that they [Ukrainians] could hope for, much more than another pallet of ammunition.”
“We presented the Ukrainians, really an incredible and historic opportunity to have the United States of America co-invest with Ukraine, invest in its economy, invest in its natural resources and really become a partner in Ukraine’s future in a way that’s sustainable,” he said.
Trump tore into Zelensky in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, ripping him as a “Dictator without Elections.”
“Zelenskyy [sic] better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” he said, referencing the suspension of Kyiv’s elections last year. “In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do.”
Waltz, who joined Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff at the Saudi summit, also said Zelensky shouldn’t have taken offense at being left out of the initial discussions or referred to Trump’s comments as “disinformation.”
“There’s obviously a lot of frustration here,” Waltz acknowledged to “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade, pushing back on the notion that Ukrainian officials weren’t being looped into the ongoing “shuttle diplomacy.” “The president also said how much he loves the Ukrainian people.”
“To say we’re going to change the nature of our aid going forward, I don’t think should offend anyone,” the security adviser added, noting that Vice President JD Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were disappointed by the rejection of their entreaties to Ukraine’s president.
Asked whether initiating the meeting with Russia was ill-advised, Waltz also said Kremlin President Vladimir Putin and Trump’s “interests are aligned in stopping the war.”
Vance had knocked Zelensky on Wednesday for “badmouthing” Trump in the press, calling it “an atrocious way to deal with this administration.”
Kellogg met with Zelensky in Kyiv earlier Thursday, with the Ukrainian president saying the two men had a “good talk.”
“The situation on the battlefield and how to return all our prisoners, as well as effective security guarantees, were discussed in detail,” Zelensky went on in a message posted on Telegram.
“From the very first second of this war, Ukraine seeks peace, and we can and must make peace reliable and lasting, so that Russia can never return to war. Ukraine is ready for a strong, really useful agreement with the President of the United States on investment and security. We offered the fastest and most constructive way to achieve the result. Our team is ready to work 24/7.”
Trump promised during the 2024 campaign to bring an end to what Waltz described Thursday as a “meatgrinder of a war.”
“The same ones that are screaming for peace and are screaming for a cease-fire over in Gaza,” the national security adviser added in a broadside against congressional Democrats, “are screaming for endless war in Europe. It’s nonsensical. This is a common-sense plan.”
The talks come as Russia has ramped up airstrikes on Ukraine, with Kremlin drones being intercepted directly over the center of Kyiv.
