Washington-Kyiv deal does not include military guarantees for Ukraine
The planned US-Ukraine deal on the use of rare earth minerals does not contain military guarantees for Kyiv.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced this, News.Az informs via TASS.
"I expect President [Volodymyr] Zelensky to sign [the deal]. It does not include military guarantees. But it does include guarantees of active investment by the United States in the economic future [of Ukraine]. I call it guarantees of economic security," he said on Fox News.
According to Bessent, this deal is part of the negotiating strategy of the American leader Donald Trump to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and "return Ukrainians to peaceful life." "The first part of this is a partnership between Ukraine and the United States, including strategic minerals, energy resources and state-owned enterprises. We will begin to cooperate in these areas, and this will be mutually beneficial," the head of the American Treasury Department asserts.
Earlier, US Presidential Special Envoy Steven Witkoff said that Washington expects to sign a deal with Kyiv on the use of minerals next week. He noted that a week ago, Zelensky "hesitated in his commitment" to this agreement, but Trump "gave him a message" and Zelensky is no longer hesitating.
Trump said Saturday that progress was being made on a minerals deal with Ukraine and expressed confidence that Washington would be able to recoup funds previously spent on aid to Kyiv.
In early February, the US President stated that Washington was interested in obtaining rare earth metals from Ukraine. On February 12, Bessent handed Zelensky the text of the agreement in Kyiv. Zelensky, who had previously noted his readiness to conclude the deal, did not sign the agreement either during a meeting with the US Secretary of the Treasury or later in Munich at a meeting with US Vice President J.D. Vance. Zelensky noted that the proposed agreement did not include security guarantees. The Ukrainian delegation handed over the text with its own amendments, which the Americans did not take into account in Munich.
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