US President Donald Trump speaks, while signing an executive decree at the Oval Office, the White House in Washington, DC, American on February 14, 2025.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
The hopes of US President Donald Trump guarantee access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals struck a wall on Saturday after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the offer on the grounds that she was too focused on American interests.
The prospects of an economic pact in exchange for Washington support for the country torn apart by the war have gained ground in recent days in the middle of a wider agreement to end the war, but Zelenskyy said that the ‘Offer submitted so far had not provided specific security guarantees for its countries.
“I did not let the ministers sign a relevant agreement because in my opinion, it is not ready to protect us, our interest,” Zelenskyy told the Associated Press on Saturday in Munich. The United States had proposed to appropriate 50% of critical minerals in Ukraine, reported Reuters, citing three people familiar with the issue.
However, Munich Security Conference officials said it was possible to negotiate an acceptable agreement on both sides.
The American Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Saturday that such an agreement could be a “game changer” to resolve the conflict and a “nightmare” for Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“This mineral agreement between the United States and Ukraine changes the situation because President Trump can go to the American people and say that Ukraine is not a burden, it is an advantage,” said Graham SATURDAY.
“If this mineral agreement occurs, it is a nightmare for Putin, because we have something to defend that we did not have before,” he added.
Ukraine is home to large deposits of precious critical minerals for the manufacture of high -tech products. The Kyiv School of Economy believes that the country Deposit hosts Out of 20 of the 50 critical raw materials, including titanium, lithium and zirconium.
President Trump said he wanted $ 500 billion in Ukraine minerals to reduce US dependence on China, but Zelenskyy has said that any exploitation should be linked to safety guarantees for the Ukraine.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons told CNBC on Saturday that the agreement could be a “positive” for both parties, provided that he has done security insurance for kyiv.
“If it is an investment opportunity where American companies and other European companies would be involved in mining and treatment, so that we can be independent of the Chinese sources of these strategic minerals – And if this helps to deepen and strengthen our partnership to help guarantee the security of Ukraine in the future … It would be a positive thing, “said Coons.
However, he added that there were descriptions of the agreement which are “very different from this”.
