The United States and Ukraine said Sunday they were closer to an agreement for Kiev to give Washington a large share of the rights to exploit rare earth minerals in compensation for billions of dollars in munitions the United States has given Ukraine to defend itself against a large-scale Russian attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a news conference in Kiev that Ukraine and the United States were “making progress” in reaching an agreement. He said a draft agreement had been agreed upon under which Ukraine would pay the United States $2 for every dollar in military aid the United States has given Kiev for its fight against Russian forces, although details were not disclosed.
The United States has sent the largest amount of aid, giving Kiev $128 billion in military and humanitarian assistance, according to the German Kiel Institute for the World Economy. The U.S. aid to Kiev is slightly larger than the $124 billion that the 27 European Union countries have given to Ukraine.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN that he expects President Zelenskyy to sign the minerals agreement this week.
President Zelenskyy initially rejected the United States' demand for half of Ukraine's rare earth mineral reserves, which are used to produce electronic devices.
Mr. Witkoff signaled in the CNN interview that the agreement would now be reached, although he did not explain its details.
Mr. Witkoff said that European countries made their contribution in support of the Ukrainian war after reaching an agreement with Kiev to eventually return their money, but the United States had not done so.
Mr. Witkoff said such unconditional US support for Ukraine "made no sense" to President Donald Trump, who had long been engaged in negotiating real estate deals in New York before entering politics in 2015.
President Zelenskyy said, "I had an agreement with former President Biden and the American Congress, I am grateful to Congress, both sides. The support was in the form of grants. A grant is not a loan. We do not have to return the loan in this case. Maybe someone does not like it and thinks it is unfair. But maybe this was part of an agreement. Therefore, it is not about the number, we simply do not see it as a loan. This was about grants not about the numbers. We simply do not see this as a loan."
President Trump, who last week called President Zelenskyy a "dictator" and accused him of starting the war even though Russia attacked Ukraine, has demanded the payments and blamed his predecessor, Biden, for failing to provide some kind of guarantee of compensation for the aid.
Mr. Zelenskyy said on Sunday that he wants President Trump to "understand" his position and provide concrete security guarantees to help Kiev defend itself from Russian attacks.
"I want a lot of understanding from Mr. Trump," Mr. Zelensky said at his press conference, adding: "Security guarantees from President Trump are very necessary."
Mr. Zelenskiy said he was willing to step down if it meant peace for Ukraine and added that he would trade his departure from office for Ukraine's entry into NATO.
"If such a thing (would mean) peace for Ukraine, if you really think it is necessary for me to leave office, I am ready," Mr Zelenskiy said when asked during a press conference whether he would be ready to leave office if it meant achieving peace.
"I would immediately exchange this for NATO (membership), if that is the condition," the president added.
Top US and Russian diplomats, Marco Rubio and Sergey Lavrov, met in Saudi Arabia without the participation of Ukrainian or European officials last week to lay the groundwork for peace talks to end the war.
President Zelenskiy expressed dissatisfaction with Ukraine's exclusion from the talks, but Trump said he could have negotiated with Russia in advance to prevent Moscow's aggression.
"I had very good talks with Putin and I didn't have such good talks with Ukraine," Mr. Trump told US governors at the White House.
"They (Ukraine) don't have any cards to play, but they are playing hard," he added.
Russian state television said in recent days that Mr. Trump's view of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is "fully consistent with the way we see things."
Envoy Witkoff said the war "wouldn't have happened" if Ukraine had not pushed for NATO membership at the time. Kiev still insists on joining the 32-nation alliance, but Washington says it is unrealistic for that to happen as part of a negotiated peace deal to end the war.
Mr. Witkoff said that "you will see concessions from both sides" in a peace agreement.
Russia now controls about a fifth of internationally recognized Ukrainian territory. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday that Moscow has no intention of returning any of the territory to the Kiev government.
"Those people decided to join Russia a long time ago," he said, referring to Moscow-organized votes in eastern Ukraine held in the midst of the three-year offensive that have been deemed invalid by Kiev, the West and international observers.
A phone call between Presidents Trump and Putin two weeks ago paved the way for the Rubio-Lavrov talks in Saudi Arabia.
"This is a dialogue between two extraordinary presidents," spokesman Peskov told state television.
Russia on Sunday marked Defender of the Fatherland Day - a holiday honoring soldiers and veterans. In a video released by the Kremlin, President Putin said that God and fate had entrusted him and his army with the "mission" to defend Russia.
Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy said Russia carried out 267 drone strikes overnight in Ukraine, which he condemned as "aerial terror."
Ukrainian officials reported damage in five regions of the country.
President Zelenskiy said that about 1,150 drones, more than 1,400 bombs and 35 missiles of various types were launched from Russia towards Ukraine in the past week./ VOA (A2 Televizion)
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