Disappointed Not Involved In Peaceful Negotiations, Zelenskiy 'Rejects' Signing A US Proposal That Wants To Control Ukraine's Minerals

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy/DOK PHOTO via Instagram @zelenskyy_official

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the United States' proposal for mineral deals was unfair because it did not include security guarantees. Zelenskiy does not want Ukraine to become the center of raw materials.

Last week Kyiv sent a revised draft agreement that could open up enormously important mineral resources for US investment to help gain US support, amid concerns in Kyiv over previous US versions of proposals.

"I said 'this document is not ready yet, we will not sign it. You continue to work on this document," Zelenskiy was quoted as saying by several Turkish media after talks at Ankara.

"I am always open to you to invest in our country, in our natural resources. But if we want to give something, we have to accept something," the Ukrainian president was quoted as saying by the state-owned news agency Anadolu.

"We don't want to be a center of raw material for which continent," he said.

Zelenskiy has outlined the outline of the deal in an interview with Reuters this month. The mineral in question includes rare earth varieties, as well as titanium, uranium, and lithium.

US President Donald Trump said he wanted rare earth minerals worth USD 500 billion from Kyiv and Washington support needed to be 'secured'.

Zelenskiy's visit to Ankara coincided with a meeting between US and Russian officials in Riyadh, without Ukrainians, on the war in Ukraine.

Zelenskiy said he believed Ukraine had support in Washington but he wanted to see more support from Trump.

"We see (the US) have removed Putin from his political isolation, but it is their own decision. But when you say 'this is our plan to end the war', this raises questions for us. Where are we? Where are we at the negotiating table? This war is happening in Ukraine," he said.

"There must be people at the negotiating table who can stop (Russian President Vladimir) Putin if he wants to return to war and they must be able to provide us with real security guarantees - not just promises - and concrete. We are ready for dialogue like that," he continued.