Mr Trump called Mr Zelensky a “dictator” and his national security advisor Mike Waltz warned him to “tone it down”, saying the deal was the “best security guarantee” Ukraine could hope for.
Anticipating that transactional-minded Mr Trump might take an interest in this, Mr Zelensky placed the mining of these minerals into his victory plan, which was drawn up and presented to Mr Trump last year.
Mr Zelensky will travel to Washington DC on Friday to meet with Mr Trump, after US and Kyiv’s officials advised the deal should be signed.
Mr Zelensky rejected the proposal as “not serious”, saying there was no factual basis for claiming the US was owed that money, as well as the deal providing Ukraine with no security guarantees.
Kyiv is ready to sign the agreement on jointly developing Ukraine’s mineral deposits, including oil and gas, after the US dropped demands to a right of up to $500bn in revenue from the resources, according to sources close to negotiations.
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