Zelenskyy refuses to sign an agreement with the US on rare earth minerals: White House National Security Council spokesman calls decision «short-sighted»

Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Photo: Presidential Office

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has refused to sign an agreement to grant the US access to rare earth minerals. The White House called this decision «short-sighted».

This was reported by the AR.

According to the newspaper, Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that the proposed document did not take into account Ukraine's interests and did not contain specific security guarantees.

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«I did not allow the ministers to sign the agreement because, in my opinion, it is not ready to protect us, our interests,» Zelenskyy said.

For his part, White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes criticised the president's decision, calling it «short-sighted» regarding the opportunity offered by the Trump administration.

According to Hughes, the minerals deal could allow US taxpayers to partially offset the funds spent on supporting Ukraine and help boost the Ukrainian economy.

Peace talks

Earlier, Donald Trump stated that the United States was engaged in constructive negotiations on a full-scale war with Ukraine and the Russian Federation. In particular, he expressed hope that agreements would be reached as soon as possible.

He also claimed that Washington had already made some progress in negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

In addition, Donald Trump indicated that his administration had already held discussions with Moscow, but did not specify who participated in such a dialogue. Also, during his phone conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump never said that Europe needs a seat at the table in negotiations on Ukraine.

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that negotiations between the United States and Russia to end the war without Kyiv's participation pose a threat to everyone.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that he was ready to sit down with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin for the sake of peace, despite his hostile attitude. He also added that he did not see a ready-made peace plan from Trump, but conveyed his readiness to negotiate.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to «allocate people» to negotiate with Ukraine to end the war. At the same time, he called any such talks «illegitimate».