US gives Zelensky ‘an hour’ to consent to US rare earths agreement

(MENAFN) According to The Economist, the US gave Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky just “an hour” to agree to a proposal granting Washington access to Ukraine’s rare mineral reserves. The deal, presented by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a recent visit to Kiev, came as a surprise to Zelensky, who expected the meeting to focus on continued financial support rather than resource access.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump stated he had demanded “the equivalent of $500 billion worth of rare earths” from Ukraine in exchange for the over $300 billion in aid the US has provided since the Ukraine conflict intensified in 2022. However, Zelensky rejected the proposal, choosing to defer discussions to the Munich Security Conference. At the event, he once again declined to sign the deal, which allegedly grants the US 50% rights to Ukraine’s mineral reserves, and said he was seeking a “better deal.”

Zelensky had previously suggested such a resource-sharing agreement as part of his “victory plan,” which would involve joint exploitation of Ukraine's critical resources while the US continued its military assistance. Reports from NBC indicated that the US may even send troops to secure the minerals as compensation for its financial aid to Ukraine.

Ukraine holds valuable rare earth minerals, which are crucial for technologies like lighting, batteries, and nuclear power. However, Zelensky admitted that around 20% of these mineral-rich areas are currently under Russian control.

Moscow has strongly criticized the potential agreement. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova argued it would breach Ukraine’s constitution, which declares the country’s natural resources belong to its people. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred to the proposal as a “commercial transaction” and suggested that the US should stop providing aid to help end the conflict.

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