The President of Ukraine needs to return to discussions regarding the agreement on American investments in the extraction of Ukrainian minerals. This was stated by U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz during a press conference.
"The U.S. Secretary of the Treasury personally traveled [to Kyiv] to offer Ukraine, without exaggeration, a historic opportunity - joint investment from America and Ukraine in its mineral resources, which would contribute to significant economic growth," he said.
Waltz emphasized that on one hand, Ukraine possesses vast natural resources, and cooperation with the U.S. would foster its economic development, while on the other hand, "we have a duty to American taxpayers and must help them recoup the hundreds of billions of dollars already spent on supporting" Ukraine.
At the same time, the U.S. advisor acknowledged that "an important aspect" of this agreement is the issue of security guarantees.
"We will continue negotiations, and he (Zelensky) must return to the negotiating table. We will further discuss the direction this agreement is heading. The policy of open support that we saw under the Biden administration has ended, and it seems many find it hard to accept," Waltz stated.
Scandal Surrounding the Agreement on Ukrainian Resources
As reported by UNIAN, last week U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visited Kyiv and brought the American version of the agreement granting the U.S. access to Ukraine's mineral resources. However, President Volodymyr Zelensky did not sign the agreement in Bessent's presence nor the following day at the security forum in Munich.
According to the Financial Times, the reason for the refusal was that the U.S. demanded Ukraine to relinquish half of all mineral resource rights without offering any security guarantees in return. Therefore, Kyiv seeks to negotiate a better deal.
Today, President Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine is not rejecting the agreement as such, but wants it to be beneficial.