(The Guardian) Ukraine and US working 'productively' on economic deal - Zelenskyy
Ukraine and the US are working productively on an economic deal at the centre of an effort to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday.
The Ukrainian president made the remark in Kyiv during an address through video link to the leaders of G7 countries, including US president Donald Trump, during which he repeated that both Europe and Ukraine should be involved in a peace process.
Trump’s main focus on Ukraine has appeared to be extracting concessions via a deal allowing the US to exploit the country’s vast mineral wealth. Zelenskyy rejected an initial proposal for a $500bn minerals deal and said he did not recognise the sum demanded by the White House as apparent “payback” for previous US military assistance, where for every $1 of any future military aid Kyiv has to pay back $2 – an interest rate, Zelenskyy noted, of 100%. What is more, the US’s opening offer came without security guarantees for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said in a press conference on Sunday: I don’t want something that 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to pay back.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent - who delivered the original proposal to Zelenskyy - told Fox News yesterday he was “quite hopeful” an agreement will be struck this week, and Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andrii Yermak said on social media that the ongoing conversation was “constructive”, adding: “We are making progress.”
Ukraine and the US are working productively on an economic deal at the centre of an effort to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday.
The Ukrainian president made the remark in Kyiv during an address through video link to the leaders of G7 countries, including US president Donald Trump, during which he repeated that both Europe and Ukraine should be involved in a peace process.
Trump’s main focus on Ukraine has appeared to be extracting concessions via a deal allowing the US to exploit the country’s vast mineral wealth. Zelenskyy rejected an initial proposal for a $500bn minerals deal and said he did not recognise the sum demanded by the White House as apparent “payback” for previous US military assistance, where for every $1 of any future military aid Kyiv has to pay back $2 – an interest rate, Zelenskyy noted, of 100%. What is more, the US’s opening offer came without security guarantees for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said in a press conference on Sunday: I don’t want something that 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to pay back.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent - who delivered the original proposal to Zelenskyy - told Fox News yesterday he was “quite hopeful” an agreement will be struck this week, and Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andrii Yermak said on social media that the ongoing conversation was “constructive”, adding: “We are making progress.”
