Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented the proposal to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week, and many of the details remain unclear, though the framework of the deal calls for U.S. investment in Ukraine’s rare earth mineral projects seeking roughly a $500 billion return to recoup the billions of dollars of U.S. military aid provided to Ukraine throughout its war against Russia.

Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, predicted at CPAC on Friday that Zelensky “is going to sign that deal, and you will see that in the very short term.”

Trump administration officials have described the deal as a long-term proposal to bring the two countries closer together economically and have been frustrated with Ukraine’s rejection of the initial offer.

“We discussed this issue about the mineral rights, and we explained to them, ‘look, we want to be in a joint venture with you’ not cause we’re trying to steal from your country, but because we think that’s actually a security guarantee,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview on X with Catherine Herridge. “If we’re your partner in an important economic endeavor, we get to be paid back some of the money the taxpayers have given, close to $200 billion, and now we have a vested interest in the security of Ukraine.”

The secretary said Zelensky was initially supportive of the proposal but acknowledged that he needed government approval to finalize a deal, and then days later, it came out that he had declined the offer.

“Scott Bessent actually went there and was treated rather rudely because essentially they told him ‘no,’” President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “He came back empty. They wouldn’t sign the document.”

The Trump administration presented a new framework for the deal, Axios reported on Friday.

Waltz called the proposal “a historic opportunity” during Thursday’s press briefing, adding that Zelensky “needs to come back to the table.”

In the aftermath of the disagreement, Trump and Zelensky have exchanged barbs. Trump called the Ukrainian leader a “dictator” and accused him of being responsible for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is a distortion of the beginning of the war that fits more aligned with Russia’s justification for it.

Waltz notably did not answer directly during the briefing whether the president believes Putin is more responsible for the start of the war than Zelensky or whether Trump considers Putin to be a dictator.

Zelensky, in response, claimed that Trump lives in a “disinformation space,” which both Waltz and Rubio have said frustrated the U.S. president, who is still criticizing the Ukrainian leader.

On Friday, Trump said of Zelensky: “I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings.”

The current disagreements between Zelensky and Trump represent what appears to be the biggest rift between Kyiv and Washington since the war began, and the U.S. president has continued to denigrate the Ukrainian leader.

Despite the frustration, Trump’s Russia-Ukraine envoy, Gen. Keith Kellogg, met with Zelensky and other senior leaders this week in Ukraine.

Zelensky, in a social media post, said they had a “good conversation, lots of details,” and added, “It is important for us and for the entire free world that American power is felt. We discussed in detail the situation on the battlefield, and how to return all our prisoners, as well as effective security guarantees.”

Kellogg, after the meeting, described Zelensky as “the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war and his talented national security team.”

Rubio, Waltz, and Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian leaders in Saudi Arabia earlier this week to begin talks to end the war. Ukraine was not included in the meeting, and neither were any other European countries.

Trump said he doesn’t believe Zelensky is “very important” to the meetings on Friday.