White House calls Zelenskyy’s refusal to sign subsoil deal ’short-sighted’ - AP
The spokesman for the White House National Security Council, Brian Hughes, considers the decision of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to sign the proposed agreement on granting the United States access to rare earth minerals in Ukraine "short-sighted."
His statement was quoted by the АР news agency, Censor.NET reports.
"President Zelenskyy was short-sighted about the great opportunity the Trump administration has provided to Ukraine," the White House National Security Council spokesman said.
Hughes also said that the agreement would allow American taxpayers to "get back" the money sent to Kyiv and at the same time develop Ukraine's economy.
He added that the White House believes that "binding economic ties with the United States will be the best guarantee against future Russian aggression and an integral part of a lasting peace."
"The United States recognizes that, the Russians recognize that, and the Ukrainians should recognize that," Hughes said.
According to the agency's source, Zelenskyy and US Vice President J.D. Vance did not discuss the details of the US document during their meeting on Friday, February 14, at the Munich Security Conference.
The senior official quoted by AP says the meeting was "very good" and "meaningful," and Vance made it clear that he and Trump's main goal is to achieve a lasting, durable peace.
In turn, Zelenskyy told Vance that real peace requires Ukraine to have a "strong position" at the beginning of negotiations, emphasizing that American negotiators should come to Ukraine and that the United States, Ukraine and Europe should be at the table with Russia.
Earlier, President Zelenskyy said that the agreement with the US on minerals would be signed at the ministerial level when it is ready and subject to guarantees. Currently, this document is not ready to protect Ukraine's interest.
Earlier, the Washington Post wrote that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the Munich Security Conference that he would not sign an agreement on Ukrainian rare earth metals because it does not contain security guarantees for our country.
