Zelenskyi rejects the claim for the repayment of earlier military support to the United States within the mineral agreement.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyi Confirmed on Friday that Ukraine has received a new proposal from the United States for a mineral agreement between countries.
According to the agreement, the United States would receive access to Ukraine’s natural resources in exchange for additional military support.
In addition, the draft agreement proposes that Ukraine will pay back to the United States at a four percent annual interest rate on the aid it has received from the country during the war, says Ukrainian sources For New York Times.
Trump has previously suggested that he wants something in return for the help the country has sent to support Ukraine.
Ukrainska Pravda magazine According to Zelenskyi, the claim is rejected by the repayment of earlier military support to the United States within the mineral agreement.
– As I said, we do not accept the debts. These are quite clear to me, said Zelenskyi, according to the magazine.
However, he stressed that Ukraine is ready to replace the help of the United States if the Trump administration decides to give it.
– We understand that this team does nothing for us for free. They officially say it, Zelenskyi said.
He also stated that Ukraine would not sign a mineral agreement if it threatened the country to join the European Union.
Zelenskyi said that his government had to go through a contract proposal with the lawyers.
The new US administration conditions clearly exceed the previous mineral agreement, which was negotiated with Ukraine in February, reports Reuters. In addition, the draft agreement still does not mention any security guarantees to Ukraine.