Rare earths for the USA

Selensky now rejects agreement on minerals

Volodymyr Selensky(Bild: APA/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The Ukrainian head of state, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, has stated that he will not sign an agreement on the supply of important Ukrainian raw materials to the USA after all.

He has forbidden his ministers from signing the agreement as it "does not protect us", Selensky told journalists at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

The Ukrainian president demanded that the agreement must contain "security guarantees" for his country, which is under attack from Russia.

The US government is seeking an economic agreement with Kiev under which Ukraine would, for example, supply the USA with rare earths in return for military support for the country. Selenskyj had shown himself to be open to US investments in this area. Ukraine has large deposits of lithium and titanium, which are of great importance for the aerospace industry and for the construction of electric vehicles.

Trump wants to end the war in Ukraine quickly
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This raised fears among Western allies that Ukraine and its European partners would be excluded from the Ukraine talks. The US government later made it clear that Kiev should be involved in the talks.