Bessent said this at an annual testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Ukrinform reports.
When Congressman Juan Vargas asked Bessant if he considered Vladimir Putin a war criminal, the secretary briefly replied: "Yes."
After that, Vargas asked Bessent if he would negotiate with a war criminal. In response, the American secretary said he believed this was "the nature of diplomacy when you have to negotiate with both sides."
"I believe that negotiation was needed with the Japanese after World War 2," Bessent added.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously said President Donald Trump had last week signed a minerals agreement with Ukraine in order to gain more "leverage" over Russia in the context of peace talks.
After lengthy negotiations, Ukraine and the United States signed an agreement on the establishment of the Reconstruction Investment Fund. The document was signed by First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
