US President Donald Trump has warned that his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky will be in "big trouble" if he does not agree to a deal to transfer rights to rare earth metals to Ukraine.
Trump has been trying to broker a ceasefire between Ukraine and the Russian invader and has insisted Zelensky sign an agreement that would give U.S. firms access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals.
During a briefing for reporters on his Air Force One plane, Trump said, "I see he's trying to pull out of the rare earth metals deal. And if he does, there's going to be some problems. Big, big problems."
On March 28, Zelensky said he would not sign a minerals agreement that interferes with Ukraine's plans to join the European Union.
"Nothing that could jeopardise Ukraine's EU accession can be accepted," he said.
On March 29, Bloomberg news agency reported that Kiev had asked for changes to the current proposal, including greater U.S. investment and more clarity on how the joint fund would operate.
The Trump administration has touted the minerals deal as an essential part of Ukraine's path to peace, but has failed to offer concrete security guarantees in exchange for broad access to the resources. Kiev and Washington were supposed to sign an earlier version of the agreement on February 28, but the plan fell through after a heated argument in the Oval Office between Zelensky, Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
The White House described the minerals deal as a mechanism for the US to "repay" some of the financial aid it has provided Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion began.
Trump has also said he wants to explore the possibility of a natural resources deal with Russia. After a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 18, the Republican said the U.S. hopes to expand trade with Moscow and gain access to "very large forms of rare earth metals." | BGNES
