USA, Ukraine continue to discuss rare earth metals agreement – media
Washington and Kyiv continue to negotiate an agreement on rare earth metals, Axios said on Friday, citing sources.
"U.S. and Ukrainian officials negotiated all night into Friday morning in an attempt to conclude a minerals deal and halt the deterioration in relations, a U.S. official and a source with direct knowledge of the issue tell Axios," the portal said.
"The U.S. official and the source familiar said the decision is now up to Zelenskyy, and both expressed concern that the U.S.-Ukraine crisis will deepen if he rejects the offer," Axios notes.
The portal said Zelenskyy rejected the first version of the agreement presented by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: according to the draft, the American side would receive 50% of the profits. It also did not contain security guarantees for Kyiv.
Later, the U.S. handed over a revised version of the agreement to the Ukrainian authorities, then made more amendments and sent the draft to Kyiv on Friday night. However, the content of the updated document is unclear.