When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in the Oval Office on Friday, they were there to sign a deal that would give the US access to a significant share of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

Instead, Trump and Vance berated and taunted Zelensky, before asking him to leave.

The deal remained unsigned, and relations between the two countries are now in tatters, with military and aid support for Ukraine from the Trump administration in doubt.

Meanwhile, Russian officials are working on their own set of deals with Trump. 

Today, associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University David Szakonyi, on what Vladimir Putin is offering Trump, and the figures behind the Russian deal.

 

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Guest: Associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University David Szakonyi

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