The US President, Donald Trump, has vowed to ‘resurrect’ negotiations on a deal for mining Ukraine’s minerals that was meant to secure continued American military support, CNN reported. Otherwise, he threatened that things “are gonna not make him [Zelensky] too happy.”
His remarks came shortly after he accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of being a “dictator,” a remark that drew rebukes from both world leaders and members of his own party.
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“I think I’m gonna resurrect that deal, you know, we’ll see what happens, but I’m gonna resurrect it, or things are gonna not make him (President Volodymyr Zelensky) too happy. And look, it’s time for elections,” Trump said Wednesday night on Air Force One, without specifying what consequences Ukraine and its leader might face if the agreement is not finalized.
During his visit to Kyiv last week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented Zelensky with a draft of the Ukraine-US natural resources agreement. However, Zelensky said that Ukraine was not prepared to sign the document.
The rare earth proposal presented by US officials to Zelensky, which many European leaders said reeked of colonialism, would have signed away about half of Ukraine’s wealth in exchange for very little, including no security guarantees, according to a leaked copy of the document.
The draft deal includes sections on Ukraine’s infrastructure and gas resources – including a far higher cut of Ukraine’s resources than the rare earth elements he began expressing an interest in two weeks ago, as first reported by The Telegraph on Monday.
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Zelensky later said at a press conference in Munich that the main reason for his not signing the document was the lack of clear security guarantees.
“This [agreement] is about investments. And you can think about how you can distribute profits when the security guarantees are clear. So far, I haven’t seen that there,” he said.
Zelensky said on Tuesday that the US has asked Ukraine to “give away” 50% of its rare minerals, without offering any security guarantees in exchange. He said he rejected that idea, saying: “I cannot, I cannot sell our state.”
Trump also blamed Zelensky for treating Bessent “rather rudely” when he arrived in Kyiv to pen the memorandum.
“Scott Bessent actually went there and was treated rather rudely, because essentially, they told him ‘no’,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “And Zelensky was sleeping and unavailable to meet him.
“Bessent traveled many hours on the train, which is a dangerous trip, and we’re talking about the secretary of the treasury. He went there to get a document signed, and when he got there, he came back empty,” Trump added.
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