KEY POINTS
- Zelensky blocks Trump-led minerals deal with Ukraine.
- Trump demands $500 billion in Ukraine’s rare earth resources.
- Ukrainian officials postponed signing the minerals deal.
- Zelensky discusses the deal with US officials in Munich.
- Zelensky urges Europe to avoid backdoor negotiations between the US and Russia.
- Germany, Poland, and NATO leaders stress Europe must secure its own defence.
MUNICH, Germany: Despite the US insistence, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday he blocked a Donald Trump-led deal that would give the US access to vast amounts of Ukrainian natural resources as it lacked “security guarantees” for Kyiv and “does not protect us”.
Trump, highly critical of the money Washington has sent to Ukraine to fight Russia, has pushed for access to rare earths in Ukraine.
Zelensky’s announcement came a day after Ukrainian officials gave the US a draft of the agreement and three days after Trump called Russia’s Vladimir Putin, with Europe and Kyiv alarmed the pair would try to end the conflict without them.
“The agreement is signed at the ministerial level. But I am the president and I will have an impact on the quality of this document. That is why I did not allow ministers to sign the agreement because it is not ready,” Zelensky told journalists at the Munich Security Conference.
“In my opinion, it does not protect us. It is not ready to protect us, our interests,” he added.
“It must be written out legally correctly, correctly, and it is an investment… If all this is connected with security guarantees. I don’t see this connection in the document yet,” he said.
Zelensky added that the deal will not benefit Ukraine for the years to come.
“These resources, this is not mine, but our people’s,” he said.
“I am a guarantor that these resources will be there for our children, with all partners,” he said.
Trump sent US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Kyiv earlier this week.
Trump eyes $500 billion Ukrainian minerals
The US leader has insisted on getting a return on US aid sent to Kyiv to fend off Russian forces.
“The deal was not signed yet. Sides are discussing the details,” said a Ukrainian official as quoted by POLITICO news outlet. “Lawyers are working on it. In their draft, the US has described a very complicated way how they want to get 50 percent [of Ukraine’s rare earths].”
The official added that the US scheme “might not work” as it could fall afoul of Ukrainian law.
Donald Trump’s officials have suggested a mineral deal could be an “economic shield that would show the Russians US has interests in Ukraine.”
Earlier this week, Trump said that the US would need $500 billion in Ukrainian minerals to repay it for the military and civilian support given to Kyiv since the start of the war.
Zelenskyy cited the security guarantees at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, in saying that the rare earths deal is not ready yet.
“We have to talk about it as investments; and it needs to be formulated correctly,” Zelenskyy told reporters at the Munich gathering. “And we can think about how to divide profits,” he added.
“All of this would be tied to security guarantees,” the Ukrainian leader said. “And I still don’t see this connection with the security guarantees in the document yet.”
On Thursday, Zelenskyy’s meeting with US Vice President JD Vance during the Munich Security Conference was reportedly postponed from the morning to the evening because the Ukrainians wanted to make amendments to the critical minerals deal.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Zelenskyy discussed the minerals agreement at a reception with US officials in Munich on Friday night.
US security guarantee is no longer certain
Earlier speaking at a gathering of top policymakers in Munich, Zelensky on Saturday warned the days of guaranteed US support for Europe are over and urged the continent to band together to create a united European army and foreign policy.
Zelensky warned the United States not to strike a deal with Russia “behind our backs”, as he urged Europe to stand up and make its voice heard.
The Ukrainian leader issued a rallying cry for Europe to take responsibility for its own security — including by eventually forming a continental army.
ALSO READ: Trump Demands $500 Billion in Rare Minerals from Ukraine for Continued US Support
The plea from Zelensky came a day after he met US Vice President JD Vance as Kyiv scrambles to ensure it is not sidelined in Washington’s push to wrap up the three-year war.
Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement,” Zelensky said in a keynote speech. No decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine. No decisions about Europe without Europe.”
Trump, Putin talks
Trump stunned allies and upended the status quo of US support for Ukraine this week when he announced he would likely soon meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin to start truce talks.
Zelensky cautioned Putin would seek to use Trump as a “prop in his own performance” — possibly by trying to get him to Moscow for Russia’s WWII victory parade in May.
Kyiv has urged Washington to come up with a “common plan” to confront Russia but Zelensky suggested there was not yet a joint stance after his meeting with Vance.
ALSO READ: Putin, Trump Agree to Immediately Start Talks on Ukraine War
Zelensky is pushing for “security guarantees” from both the United States and Europe to ensure that any peace deal does not allow Moscow just to restart the war later.
“Putin cannot offer real security guarantees because Russia in its current state needs war to hold power together,” he said.
The Ukrainian leader said forceful sanctions on Russia and building up Ukraine’s military could help secure peace, and said he was “open” to eventually having European peacekeepers.
EU leaders back Zelensky
European leaders backed up Zelensky’s call to action — and for their continent to play a key role.
“There will only be peace if Ukraine’s sovereignty is secured,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told the Munich Security Conference.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk pressed Europe to establish its own stances on Ukraine and security as the United States sows doubts about its commitment to Europe.
“Europe urgently needs its own plan of action concerning Ukraine and our security, or else other global players will decide about our future,” Tusk said.
“This plan must be prepared now. There’s no time to lose.”
NATO chief Mark Rutte said that leaders in Europe were “now getting into the concrete planning phase” of possible security guarantees.
