Trump says Zelenskyy wants to renegotiate fossil fuel deal

US President Donald Trump has said that Volodymyr Zelenskyy is trying to renegotiate the rare earth metals treaty.

According to «Suspilne», he said this during a conversation with journalists at the White House.

«I see that he (Zelenskyy) is trying to renegotiate the agreement on rare earth metals. We have done something because the Europeans are getting back the money they gave them (Ukraine, — note). We are not,» Donald Trump said.

He also criticised his predecessor, Joseph Biden, accusing him of incompetence. According to him, the US administration should have demanded that Ukraine either supply rare earth metals or provide guarantees for closing loans.

Agreement on minerals between Ukraine and the United States

Earlier, Donald Trump said that he would like to conclude a deal under which Ukraine would supply the US with rare earth minerals needed for electronics production in exchange for US aid.

However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticised Donald Trump's proposal to provide Ukraine with military assistance in exchange for its minerals.

Subsequently, US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine had agreed to provide Washington with access to rare earth minerals worth $500 billion.

It should be noted, however, that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to sign the agreement on granting the US access to rare earth minerals. The White House called this decision «short-sighted».

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the United States might consider investing in mining on the Black Sea shelf, which is currently under Russian occupation.

US National Security Advisor Mike Volz called on Kyiv «to tone it down» and sign the mining agreement that President Zelenskyy had previously rejected.

Subsequently, the US President Donald Trump's administration sent Ukraine an updated version of the mining agreement, which took into account some of Kyiv's comments. The new draft US minerals agreement provides for the distribution of revenues from resources in the liberated territories of Ukraine.