Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected ownership of the U.S. right to run for 50% of the country’s rare earth minerals and tried to negotiate a better deal.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered the deal to Zelenskyy during a visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, amid President Donald Trump’s statement that the United States Owe the United States half of the Ukrainian resources worth half a trillion dollars in exchange for aid to the war-torn countries.
According to four people familiar with Ukrainian negotiations in the U.S., Zelenskyy wants the security guarantees in the U.S. and Europe to be linked directly to any transactions in mineral reserves.
He is also keen on other countries, including EU countries, to participate in future natural resource exploitation.
However, according to a person familiar with the matter, Trump’s deal only mentions that the U.S. has obtained Ukrainian resources in exchange for past military aid and does not include any suggestions for future aid.
“We’re still talking,” Zelenskyy said in Munich on Saturday. “I have different conversations.”
Zelenskyy told reporters among the onlookers of the meeting: “Today is not in our interest. . The interests of Ukraine’s sovereignty do not match the current US agreement to the US deal.
A senior Ukrainian official told the Financial Times that Kiev is “trying to negotiate a better deal”.
During a visit to the Kiev presidential office this week, Bess brought a document that Trump hoped that Zelenskyy would sign before Bessent returns to Washington, according to five people familiar with the matter.
Bessent spoke to reporters before he and Zelenskyy discussed the deal privately, which Bessent called “economic agreement” to “interweave our economy further.”
The Trump administration will “until the end [with Kyiv] By increasing our economic commitment, this will “provide a long-term security shield for all Ukrainians” once the war in Russia is over, Bessent said.
“When we looked at the details, there was nothing there [about future US security guarantees],” another Ukrainian official told the British bank.
When asked about the third Ukrainian official who is familiar with the proposal, it was a “Trump deal” and whether Ukraine is good. “This is a Trump deal,” the official said. “It’s too hard.”
Ukraine’s main concern was the three people who reviewed the proposal said there was a lack of link to broader security assurance.
Ukrainian officials asked how the agreement would contribute to the long-term security of its country, but were only told that it would ensure the U.S. presence on Ukrainian soil – a vague response that has left the key issues unresolved.
Bessent argued that the presence of Americans alone would ensure the location of mineral deposits was enough to stop Moscow.
Another notable thing is the norm of the document, that New York would be the jurisdiction of the disputed mineral rights, according to two people familiar with the matter.
A person close to Zelenskyy said that U.S. Ambassador Bridget Brink introduced him to the document, which contained a proposal from Bessent shortly before he arrived in Kiev without prior warning.
The person said Kiev did not believe the proposal could be enforced under New York law.
According to the person, the files shared by Brink were the same file, according to Best later to Zelenskyy. It is the “draft as of February 7, 2025”. Zelenskyy’s team was told he was expected to sign on Wednesday during the Bessent visit.
The U.S. Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
People close to Zelenskyy say Ukraine supports the concept of exchanging Ukrainian resources for future security. However, the U.S. proposal only refers to past aid, not future, and a formally binding bilateral international agreement is the only way to ensure that the rights and interests of both parties are protected.
After their meeting, Zelenskyy told reporters that he would consider the proposal, but would not sign any proposal at the time.
“We will review the document and work quickly to ensure our team reaches an agreement. The United States is our strategic partner and we are committed to finalizing the details,” Zelenskyy said at the time.
Bessent said after the meeting that Trump hopes to reach the deal.
“I think it’s important to resolve this conflict from President Trump’s perspective [with Russia] ASAP. “He said. “We will provide the Ukrainian people with guarantees of US aid. I believe this is a very strong signal for Russia’s intentions. ”
Zelenskyy said he wanted to further discuss the prospects of the mineral rights agreement at the Munich Security Conference this weekend.
He fought back at a meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance in Munich on Friday, and he also discussed with U.S. lawmakers on the forum.
Zelenskyy said in a speech in Munich on Friday that his legal team will review the persistence documents proposed by Kyiv in Kyiv to provide advice and propose potential changes. He described it as a memorandum between the United States and Ukraine, rather than a formal security agreement.
A European official introduced the meeting that Zelenskyy did not sign the deal because he wanted other countries, including European countries, to participate in mining the minerals.
“They are under tremendous pressure on Americans,” the official said.
The U.S. proposal is in line with the “Victory Plan” that Zelenskyy’s team has been developing since last summer to deepen ties with the Trump administration, allowing the U.S. to acquire key minerals used in the high-tech industry.
Ukraine’s precious minerals are estimated to be worth trillions of dollars, including lithium, titanium and graphite, all of which are crucial to the manufacturing of high-tech products. However, many of these resources are located in areas occupied by Russia, or at risk of being captured by the Kremlin advance troops, as they sit near the front line in eastern Ukraine.
