Zelenskyy says Ukraine is ready to sign minerals deal

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is ready to sign an agreement on minerals Photo: Getty Images

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals agreement between Ukraine and the United States at any time and in any convenient format.

He wrote about this on the social network X.

«As for the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time and in any convenient format. We see this agreement as a step towards greater security and reliable security guarantees, and I sincerely hope that it will work effectively», Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote.

It should be noted that this text is not available on the Telegram channel, where Volodymyr Zelenskyy usually publishes his addresses to Ukrainians. The post was published only on social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk.

Advertising

Agreement on minerals between Ukraine and the United States

Earlier, Donald Trump said that he would like to conclude a deal under which Ukraine would supply the US with rare earth minerals needed for electronics production in exchange for US aid.

However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticised Donald Trump's proposal to provide Ukraine with military assistance in exchange for its minerals.

Subsequently, US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine had agreed to provide Washington with access to rare earth minerals worth $500 billion.

It should be noted, however, that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to sign the agreement on granting the US access to rare earth minerals. The White House called this decision «short-sighted».

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the United States might consider investing in mining on the Black Sea shelf, which is currently under Russian occupation.

US National Security Advisor Mike Volz called on Kyiv «to tone it down» and sign the mining agreement that President Zelenskyy had previously rejected.

Subsequently, the US President Donald Trump's administration sent Ukraine an updated version of the mining agreement, which took into account some of Kyiv's comments. The new draft US minerals agreement provides for the distribution of revenues from resources in the liberated territories of Ukraine.

Dispute in the Oval Office

As a reminder, the meeting of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, 28 February, was ended early. The conversation between Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance in the White House turned heated.

According to CNN sources, after the public part of the conversation between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended, the American president and his advisers went into a separate room. It was then that Donald Trump finally decided that Volodymyr Zelenskyy «was not in the right place to negotiate», and instructed Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz to convey the message that the Ukrainian president should leave.

In turn, after the failure to sign the US subsoil deal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the United States, President Trump and Congress.

In an interview with Fox News, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said that such disputes are not good for both sides, but the President of Ukraine cannot «change our Ukrainian attitude towards the Russians» and does not want them to continue killing Ukrainians.

A number of European leaders, as well as American politicians, have expressed support for Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed Ukrainians and Zelenskyy on the social media platform X with the following words: «Dear Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian friends, you are not alone».

French President Emmanuel Macron also said that Russia is the aggressor and Ukraine is a state that has been aggressed. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also expressed support for Kyiv, writing: «Ukraine, Spain stands with you». President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen addressed Volodymyr with the following words: «Be strong, be brave, be fearless».

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said after the argument in the White House that it was time for Europe to unite around Ukraine and strengthen its defence without illusions about «Big Brother».

In his turn, the leader of the «Servant of the People» faction, David Arakhamiia, supported President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the White House dispute and stressed that the head of state wanted to put an end to the war.

After a spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump ordered the National Security Staff to check whether Washington could completely or temporarily stop supplying weapons to Ukraine.