Ukrainian officials were told not to sign an agreement with the U.S. on rare earth minerals because the document focused on U.S. interests, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and did not offer any specific security guarantees in return, said one current and one former senior official familiar with the talks.
The proposal focused on how the U.S. could use Kyiv’s rare earth minerals “as compensation” for support already given to Ukraine by the Biden administration and as payment for future aid, current and former senior Ukrainian officials said speaking anonymously so they could speak freely. A senior White House official said that Zelenskyy's rejection was “short-sighted.”
