The draft agreement on minerals, offered to Kiev by Washington, does not provide for additional military aid to Ukraine, writes the Financial Times, citing sources familiar with the contents of the document.
The publication reports that the Ukrainian side refuses to sign the agreement in its current form and is looking for more favorable conditions for itself. The stumbling block is the lack of mention of security guarantees for Ukraine in the text of the document. It envisages Kiev transferring to the United States the rights to part of the country's mineral resources as compensation for the US military aid it has already received, but nowhere does it envisage Washington continuing to provide it.
The agency's sources pointed out several more details that make the draft agreement unprofitable for Kiev. The US insists that the mineral deal will provide an "American presence" in Ukraine, which will act as a deterrent to Russia. It is noted that the Ukrainian side is concerned about the vagueness of this wording, which could mean only the economic presence of American companies. The document also stipulates that disputes between the parties will have to be resolved in the courts of New York state, but Kiev believes that they do not have the necessary jurisdiction to consider such issues.
As the Washington Post reported earlier, citing its sources, the authorities in Kiev have rejected the US administration's plan to provide aid to Ukraine in exchange for granting Washington the right to 50% of rare earth minerals in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev is currently working on a counter-proposal. According to the publication, Ukraine received the text of the proposed US agreement on minerals just four hours before the meeting of US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant with Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on Wednesday. It is reported that at this meeting the Finance Minister insisted that Zelensky sign the agreement immediately, but he did not do so.
In early February, US President Donald Trump said that the US was interested in obtaining rare earth metals from Ukraine. Zelensky later said that large quantities of minerals and rare earth metals offered to Washington were located in territories not controlled by Kiev. In an interview with Reuters, he expressed his readiness to make a deal and offered Trump Ukrainian mineral resources and underground gas storage facilities in exchange for security guarantees.