 "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump. File image")
Ukraine has handed over the draft of a proposal for giving Washington access to the country’s natural resources in exchange for continued US support, officials said on Friday.
The development comes just hours before Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to meet US Vice President JD Vance on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visited Kyiv this week to deliver a first draft of an accord, which Zelensky said Kyiv would study with the aim of finalising at the ongoing Munich Security Conference.
“Ukraine handed over the document,” a member of Kyiv’s delegation at the Munich Security Conference told reporters, adding the US side had requested time to look over the document.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said that if Kyiv wants to keep receiving aid it should be provided with $500 billion worth of Ukraine’s mineral riches.
In an interview with Fox News, POTUS said that the US should get a share of Ukraine’s vast mineral trove to compensate hundreds of billions of dollars that Washington has spent to aid Ukraine during the course of the ongoing war.
“I told them [Ukraine] that I want the equivalent like $500B worth of rare earth. And they’ve essentially agreed to do that so at least we don’t feel stupid,” Trump said.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsUkraine possesses extensive reserves of essential minerals and elements, including lithium and titanium, which are crucial for modern technology production. Additionally, the country has significant coal, oil, gas, and uranium deposits, though a large portion of these resources is currently located in areas controlled by Russia.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week said he expected to reach a deal for Ukraine’s mineral wealth that will in part compensate the United States for money that has been sent on weapons to defend against Russia.
Zelenskyy had floated the possibility of deepening Ukraine’s economic ties with its Western partners in a so-called victory plan announced in December, citing his country’s reserves of valuable mineral resources.
With inputs from agencies