The controversial proposal by the administration of US President Donald Trump to provide them with $500 billion in profits from Ukrainian rare earth minerals as compensation for their wartime aid to Kiev has been withdrawn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, quoted by the Associated Press and BTA.
According to the agency, this shows that a fairer deal is currently being worked on.
Earlier, Zelensky rejected the US draft agreement on the exploitation of valuable resources in his country such as lithium, used in the space, defense and nuclear industries, as it does not contain security guarantees and has a price tag of $500 billion.
„The question of $500 billion is no longer on the agenda“, Zelensky said at a news conference in Kiev marking the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader said that treating the aid as a debt that must be repaid would be a “Pandora's box“ that would set a precedent requiring Kiev to repay all its supporters.
“We do not recognize the debt. It will not be present in the final format of the agreement,“ the Ukrainian president said. At the same time, he did not provide further details about the state of the negotiations. Ukraine is demanding security guarantees it needs to deter any potential Russian aggression in the future.
Trump's special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said on CNN that he expects an agreement this week that would allow the United States to play a greater role in exploiting Ukraine's mineral resources.
Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said the administration's minerals plan aims to create a partnership between the United States and Ukraine, calling it a "win-win."
"We make money if the Ukrainian people make money," Besant said on Fox News.
Ukrainian President Andriy Yermak's chief of staff left an event in Kiev early with Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko for talks with U.S. officials about a potential deal.
Later on Sunday, Ermak posted on social media that he had spoken with U.S. officials, including Besant and Trump's national security adviser Mike Walz, saying they had "constructive conversations."
"We are making progress. The U.S. is our partner and we are grateful to the American people," Ermak wrote.