The U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has presented Ukraine with an "improved" draft of a minerals agreement after President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the initial proposal, Axios reported on Feb. 20, citing sources familiar with the matter.
"This is a negotiation. And in a negotiation, you negotiate. Ukraine wants to negotiate minerals, so we're talking about it," a White House official was quoted as saying.
Following his meeting with Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Zelensky signaled Kyiv's openness to a "strong, beneficial agreement" with the U.S. on investments and security.
"We have proposed the quickest and most constructive way to achieve results," he said.
According to Axios, several of Zelensky's aides encouraged him to sign the updated deal to avoid further tensions with Trump and allow the president to justify continued American support for Ukraine.
The revised draft has reportedly been "significantly improved" to align with Ukrainian law.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
Trump previously suggested that new aid shipments could depend on trade deals the U.S. negotiates with Ukraine. On Feb. 3, Trump said he wanted to provide Kyiv with weapons and aid in exchange for "rare earths and other things."
The original U.S. proposal reportedly sought a 50% interest in Ukraine's natural resources, including critical minerals, oil, and gas, as well as stakes in ports and other key infrastructure through a joint investment fund.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered the initial draft to Zelensky during his visit to Kyiv last week. Ukraine's leader said Kyiv is not ready to sign the document as it did not include any security guarantees.
The proposal comes amid growing tensions between Kyiv and Washington, as Trump has made multiple false claims about Ukraine in recent days, including calling Zelensky a "dictator" and accusing him of refusing to hold elections.
Trump's remarks ignore the fact that Ukraine's constitution prohibits elections during martial law, which has been in effect since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
A Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent that Washington had initially sought to condition Ukraine's signing of the memorandum on Zelensky's meeting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 14.
Vance also criticized Zelensky on Feb. 19, calling his public remarks about Trump "counterproductive" after the Ukrainian president dismissed Trump's claim that his support in Ukraine had fallen to 4%, labeling it Russian disinformation.
A Feb. 19 poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) showed that 57% of Ukrainians trust Zelensky, marking a five-point increase since December.
Dominic Culverwell
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