The European Union has proposed its own agreement on "critical materials" to Ukraine on Monday, just as US President Donald Trump said Washington was close to signing a deal with Kiev, Reuters reported.
European Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stephane Séjournais said he had presented the rival proposal to Ukrainian officials he met in Kiev during a European Commission visit to mark the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion.
"Twenty-one of the 30 critical materials that Europe needs can be provided by Ukraine in a win-win partnership," Séjournais said, quoted by AFP .
He pointedly noted: "The added value that Europe offers is that we will never demand a deal that is not mutually beneficial."
Trump has made increasingly aggressive overtures to Ukraine over rights to its mineral wealth, demanding up to $500 billion in compensation for Washington's support for Kiev in repelling a Russian invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has so far refused to sign two draft agreements proposed by the Trump administration, saying the terms - which include Kiev giving up mineral, oil and gas revenues, plus $500 billion in port and other infrastructure revenues - are too harsh.
"I will not sign what 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to give back," Zelensky stressed at a press conference on Sunday.
But Trump insists that the "final deal" is "very close" and that it will include "rare earth elements and various other things".
Ukraine has vast reserves of critical elements and minerals, from lithium to titanium, that are vital to the production of modern technologies and highly coveted in the global race for resources.
It also has vast reserves of coal, as well as oil, gas and uranium, but much of them are in territories under Russian control.