Volodymyr Zelensky should change his mind and sign the minerals agreement with the US, because the Americans deserve compensation for the billions invested in the war.
This was stated by US National Security Advisor Mike Walz in an interview with Fox News.
“The United States and Europe have supported these efforts, but the United States has certainly borne the brunt of the aid for several years, but now President Trump is making it clear that this crisis in Ukraine must end“, he said. “First, this must be a permanent, not a temporary end to the war. Second, it cannot be stopped on the battlefield," Walz added.
He noted that unlike Europe, which provided military aid in the form of debt, the United States provided aid without any preconditions. "The American people deserve restitution and compensation for the billions that have been spent on this war," the Trump aide added.
He pointed out that economic integration would serve as a basis for further cooperation between Washington and Kiev. "President Trump is rethinking the whole dynamic here, and some people are uncomfortable with that, but I think it would be a very wise decision for Zelensky to make this deal with the United States. There is no better way to secure the future," concluded Waltz.
As the Washington Post (WP) reported earlier, citing its sources, the authorities in Kiev have rejected the US administration's plan to provide aid to Ukraine in exchange for Washington granting the right to 50% of Ukraine's rare earth minerals. 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 Treasury Secretary insisted that Zelensky sign the agreement immediately, but he did not do so.
In early February, 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.