President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly faulted the American proposal because it did not include security guarantees.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, rejected an offer by the Trump administration to relinquish half of the country’s mineral resources in exchange for U.S. support, according to five people briefed on the proposal or with direct knowledge of the talks.

The unusual deal would have granted the United States a 50 percent interest in all of Ukraine’s mineral resources, including graphite, lithium and uranium, according to two European officials. Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, who presented the deal to Ukraine, said Sunday that the United States wanted the minerals “as payback for the aid we’ve given them” — leaving unclear whether the deal would cover future military and financial assistance.

A Ukrainian official and an energy expert briefed on the proposal said that the Trump administration sought not only Ukraine’s minerals but additional natural resources, including oil and gas. The proposal, they said, would entitle the United States to half of Ukraine’s resource earnings — funds that are today mostly invested in the country’s military and defense production.

MBFC

Archive

  • ElegantBiscuit@lemm.eeEnglish
    7·
    4 days ago

    It doesn’t really matter what happens with nato, trump is technically commander in chief of the armed forces and just the chaos alone of the first few hours and days is where it makes all the difference. Jan 6 for example would have looked a whole lot different under a different sitting president where the national guard and military were sent in when they should have been, because as it was, disaster was minutes and tens of feet away that day.