Zelensky Refuses to Transfer Rights to Half of Ukraine's Mineral Resources to the US

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky turned down a proposal that would have allowed the US access to 50% of Ukraine's mineral resources in the future, reports NewsBox.

This was reported by The Washington Post political columnist Josh Rogin. According to him, Zelensky "politely declined to sign the document," as noted by Ostorozhno, novosti.

Negotiations between Zelensky and US Vice President Jay D. Venson took place in the evening in Munich and lasted less than an hour. After the meeting, the Ukrainian President left the conference without providing comments to the press.

The meeting was initially scheduled for Friday morning, but Washington postponed it to review Kyiv's amendments in the joint memorandum. According to Reuters, the US proposed that Zelensky sign a document transferring rights to rare-earth metals without any security assurances for Ukraine. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted on unilateral terms that did not consider Kyiv's interests.

In his speech in Munich, Zelensky repeatedly emphasized that he would not sign any documents without thoroughly understanding their content. According to Reuters sources, the US attempted to get the Ukrainian leader to approve the agreement "blindly," but Kyiv refused to comply with such terms.