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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy directed his ministers not to sign off on a proposed agreement giving the United States access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, citing concerns that the document was too focused on U.S. interests without offering sufficient security guarantees for Ukraine.
The proposal, discussed during talks with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, did not provide specific security guarantees, according to one current and one former senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks.
“I didn’t let the ministers sign a relevant agreement because in my view it is not ready to protect us, our interest,” Zelenskyy told The Associated Press on Saturday in Munich.
The proposal focused on how the U.S. could use Kyiv’s rare earth minerals “as compensation” for support already given to Ukraine by the Biden administration and as payment for future aid, the current and former senior Ukrainian officials said, speaking anonymously to speak freely.
Ukraine has vast reserves of critical minerals used in the aerospace, defense, and nuclear industries. The Trump administration has expressed interest in accessing them to reduce dependence on China, but Zelenskyy insisted that any exploitation would need to be tied to security guarantees for Ukraine that would deter future Russian aggression.
“For me, it’s very important the connection between some kind of security guarantees and some kind of investment,” the Ukrainian president told AP.
Zelenskyy did not elaborate on why he instructed his officials not to sign the document, which was given to Ukrainian officials on Wednesday by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bassett on a visit to Kyiv.
“It’s a colonial agreement, and Zelenskyy cannot sign it,” a former senior official said.
U.S. officials in discussions with their Ukrainian counterparts in Munich were commercially minded and largely concentrated on the specifics of exploring the minerals and how to form a possible partnership to do that with Ukraine, the senior official said.
The potential value of the deposits in Ukraine has not yet been discussed, with much unexplored or close to the front line. The U.S. proposal apparently did not take into account how the deposits would be secured in the event of continuing Russian aggression. The official suggested the U.S. did not have “ready answers” to that question and that one of their takeaways from discussions in Munich will be how to secure any mineral extraction operation in Ukraine involving people and infrastructure.
Any deal must be in accordance with Ukrainian law and acceptable to the Ukrainian people, the senior Ukrainian official said.
Subsoil belongs to Ukrainians under the constitution, according to Kseniiia Orynchak, founder of the National Association of Mining Industry of Ukraine. A deal would need popular support.
Zelenskyy and Vance did not discuss the details of the U.S. document during their meeting Friday at the Munich conference, the senior official said. That meeting was “very good” and “substantive,” with Vance making it clear his and Trump’s main goal was to achieve a durable, lasting peace, the senior official said.
Ukraine is now preparing a “counter proposal” which will be delivered to the U.S. in “the near future,” the official said.
“I think it’s important that the vice president understood me that if we want to sign something, we have to understand that it will work,” Zelenskyy told AP. “It will bring money and security.”
**Conclusion:**
The dispute highlights the challenges in negotiating a deal that balances Ukraine’s concerns about national security with the U.S. interest in accessing the country’s natural resources.
**FAQs:**
* What is the proposal about?
The proposal is about the United States accessing Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for support and aid.
* Why is Zelenskyy opposed to the proposal?
Zelenskyy is opposed to the proposal because it does not provide sufficient security guarantees for Ukraine and is too focused on U.S. interests.
* What is the U.S. proposal?
The U.S. proposal is for Ukraine to use its rare earth minerals as compensation for support already given to Ukraine and as payment for future aid.
* What are the concerns about security guarantees?
The concerns are that the U.S. proposal does not provide sufficient security guarantees for Ukraine, which is still facing Russian aggression.
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