Revealing the details of the mineral agreement.. Zelensky: I will not return 10 cents to Washington

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed the contents of a framework agreement between his country and the United States on the exploitation of Ukrainian rare minerals, while US President Donald Trump announced that the two parties will sign the agreement in Washington the day after tomorrow, Friday, and that he will not provide major security guarantees to Kiev.

Zelensky said during a press conference in Kiev on Wednesday that he looks forward to visiting the United States on Friday, confirming that a framework agreement had been reached with Washington on natural resources, which does not require parliamentary approval.

"There are not all the security guarantees that Ukraine wants to see, but I wanted there to be at least one sentence on guarantees, and that is in the framework agreement," he explained.

"No big guarantees"

For his part, Trump said in statements to reporters at the White House today, Wednesday, that Zelensky will visit the United States on Friday, and that the two parties will sign the agreement on rare metals and other matters that he did not specify.

The US President confirmed that the United States will recover the money it paid to Ukraine, noting that it spent $350 billion to help Kiev, and stating that the priority is to "stop the fighting in Ukraine and then not spend any additional money."

Trump said that he would not provide major security guarantees to Kiev, but that Europe would do so, noting that France and Britain had pledged to deploy peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.

US aid

In contrast, Zelensky said the success of the framework agreement depends on Trump, adding that he will ask him whether he will stop US aid to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president stressed that he was not even thinking of "returning 10 cents" to the United States under the agreement, because that would set a precedent, as he put it.

He said the deal "does not include paying off $500 billion, $350 billion, or $150 billion in debt, because I think that's unfair to us."

"It is true that we are grateful for everything that has been offered to us, but regarding the details of the upcoming agreements, we will speak clearly about the security guarantees and the financial amounts that correspond to them specifically," he continued.

"If the Americans say they will continue to provide support by allocating $30 billion, for example, then we can agree on how to return it and fulfill our obligations," he added.

separate agreement

The Ukrainian president said the framework agreement does not include provisions on establishing a $500 billion reconstruction investment fund, and explained that Kiev and Washington will reach a separate agreement on this fund that will require later ratification.

Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that Ukrainian media outlets published the terms of the framework agreement between Ukraine and the United States after it was presented to parliament.

The agreement stipulates that part of the proceeds from the exploitation of rare metals will be reinvested in the reconstruction of Ukraine, according to local media.

On the other hand, the New York Times said that the agreement calls on Ukraine to hand over its revenues from natural resources to Washington, adding that the agreement "includes new language referring to security guarantees."

Russian proposal

Meanwhile, NBC News reported that Russia has proposed to the Trump administration a new partnership and a possible agreement that would give the United States some ownership of rare and precious minerals in parts of Ukraine controlled by Russian forces, such as Donetsk and Zaporizhia.

The channel quoted American officials as saying that senior aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin had raised this idea with Trump administration officials during the American-Russian talks held in Saudi Arabia this month.

The channel said that the Trump administration has not committed to concluding such an agreement with Russia, but has not ruled it out, and quoted American officials as saying that many of the rare minerals in Ukraine are located in areas that Russia seized during its war on Ukraine since 2022 or areas threatened by its forces.

counterattack

On the ground, Ukrainian forces announced today, Wednesday, that they launched a successful counterattack in the Donetsk region in the east of the country, and took control of the village of Kotlin, which is close to a main road and the city of Pokrovsk, which is a logistical center.

The Ukrainian unit participating in the operation said in a post on social media that "taking control of this position would have allowed the occupiers to reach the Pokrovsk-Dnipro highway, so the enemy sent large forces to take control of it."

Source: Al Jazeera + Agencies + American Press