Draft agreement on rare metals between Ukraine and US is being prepared: Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is “not ready” to sign a minerals deal with the United States, a source told AFP on Saturday, raising doubts about the proposed agreement as a rift between the two countries deepened, France 24 reports.
Since taking office last month, President Donald Trump has upended US foreign policy, making diplomatic overtures towards the Kremlin while demanding Ukraine give up its rare minerals to compensate for the wartime aid it received under Joe Biden.
Trump’s national security adviser predicted Friday that Zelensky would sign a minerals deal soon, but its contours have not been made public and Zelensky has pushed back at any arrangement that would mean “selling” his country.
“In the form in which the draft is now, the president is not ready to accept, we are still trying to make changes and add constructiveness,” a Ukrainian source close to the matter told AFP.
Kyiv wants any agreement signed with the US to include security guarantees.
The negotiations between the two countries come amid a deepening war of words between Trump and Zelensky that has raised alarm in Kyiv and Europe.
