US and Ukraine negotiated all night on rare earth metals agreement – Axios
American and Ukrainian officials negotiated all night long until the morning of Friday, February 21, on an agreement on rare earth metals.
This was reported by Axios, citing a US official and an interlocutor, Censor.NET reports.
According to the information, the US side sent its latest version of the agreement on February 20, with the intention of "fixing the situation" in relations between Kyiv and Washington. The proposal was presented by a different official than US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which may indicate a desire to avoid further tensions.
U.S. officials have emphasized the importance of signing the agreement to preserve the stability of bilateral relations, saying that the decision now rests with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At the same time, there are fears that rejecting the deal could further deepen the crisis between the two countries.
As noted, Zelenskyy has expressed concern about some of the points of the agreement, including the lack of security guarantees. The terms of the new proposal have not yet been disclosed, but the US administration has made additional changes in an effort to meet Kyiv's demands.
Minerals agreement with the US
As a reminder, Trump has said he wants to strike a $500 million deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on access to rare earth resources and natural gas in Ukraine in exchange for security guarantees in any potential peace settlement.
President Zelenskyy said that the agreement with the US on minerals would be signed at the ministerial level when ready and subject to guarantees. Currently, this document is not ready to protect Ukraine's interest.
Later, Trump said that Ukraine had disrupted the deal on rare earth metals. The agreement was needed so that the US could recover the money spent on supporting Ukraine.
Later, it was reported that the Trump administration had given Ukraine an "improved" draft of the minerals agreement that "complies with Ukrainian law".
