Today at 01:02
U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to reject the agreement on Ukraine’s natural resources.
He said this aboard his plane, Air Force One.
And he added that if Zelenskyy does this, he will “face big problems, very big problems,” without clarifying what exactly he meant.
“He is trying to reject the deal on rare earth elements, and if he does, he will have problems, big, big problems,” Trump told journalists.
According to him, Zelenskyy seeks for Ukraine to become a NATO member, “but he will never become a NATO member. He understands that.”
The United States is proposing a new deal regarding Ukrainian minerals, as well as oil and gas, without offering security guarantees in return. The Financial Times, which reviewed the draft agreement, writes that Washington is aggressively expanding its demands. Kyiv believes that this could undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, direct profits abroad, and deepen the country’s dependence on the U.S.
However, Kyiv will request to amend the agreement, demanding an increase in American investments in return.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brought a pilot project of the resource agreement to Ukraine on February 12. Washington hoped that Kyiv would sign it immediately. However, President Zelenskyy said he had prohibited signing the agreement because it would not protect Ukraine’s interests—there was no connection to investments, profits, or security guarantees. After that, it began to be revised.
The revised agreement was supposed to be signed on February 28 during Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House. However, at that time, Donald Trump and the President of Ukraine had a dispute—the Ukrainian delegation left the White House early. The document was not signed. However, both sides stated that negotiations on the agreement are ongoing.
After this, CBS News reported that Trump is insisting on a “bigger, better deal” with Ukraine on rare earth minerals. Sources from the publication noted that the version of the agreement brought to the U.S. is not final—some of its clauses may be changed.
Read also: Finland’s President after meeting with Trump: U.S. patience with Russia “running out”
