Ukraine rejects US deal on rare earth metals, cites sovereignty concerns
No deal has been reached between the USA and Ukraine regarding rare earth metals. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, refused to sign the document presented to him. When asked by journalists why he did not sign it, he replied, "It is not in our interest today, it is not in the interest of sovereign Ukraine."
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was expected to present the draft agreement to Zelensky on Wednesday during his visit to Kyiv, as reported by Reuters. Ukraine has not disclosed the content of the talks, although two Ukrainian sources said on Friday that Kyiv had given the American side a revised draft.
When asked by journalists on Saturday about the issues with the American document, Zelensky reiterated: "It is not in our interest today, it is not in the interest of sovereign Ukraine."
"There are not very concrete things about security guarantees in this document. That for me is very important: the connection between some kind of security guarantees and some kind of investment," he continued.
Zelensky explained that he did not permit ministers to sign this agreement—because, as he emphasized, it is an agreement signed at the ministerial level—since, in his opinion, it did not protect the interests of Ukraine.
According to Reuters sources, the document presented by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stipulated that Ukraine was supposed to agree to transfer to the USA at least 50% of rare earth minerals and other valuable resources for an extended period.
Trump wants Ukrainian minerals in exchange for aid
In early February, Donald Trump suggested that he expects Ukraine to secure American access to rare earth metals in exchange for continued military support.
"We’re telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths. We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earths and other things," Trump stated.
It turns out that Kyiv was not surprised by this because the idea of their joint extraction was proposed by the Ukrainian side several months ago.
