Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on Wednesday that the United States has requested to keep half of Ukraine's natural resources, without providing written guarantees for the continuity of its support or security. Zelensky mentioned that the document presented by Washington was ambiguous, except for the clause that specified the delivery of 50% of the resources.
"The document was not clear, it was only clear in one thing, that we had to give 50 percent of everything specified in the document," noted Zelensky at a press conference in Kyiv. The Ukrainian president expressed his willingness to publish the US proposal, although he showed skepticism about the positive impact on bilateral relations.
The proposal, presented by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during his visit to Kyiv the week before, did not contain the security guarantees that Ukraine expected. According to Zelensky, the lack of clarity in the figures regarding US aid to Ukraine raised by President Trump is a point of controversy. Trump has suggested that Ukraine compensate for the aid received with its natural resources, estimating a benefit of 500 billion dollars for Washington.
Zelensky announced that he would take a few days to respond to the US proposal, which has not been accepted by Kyiv so far. Sources close to the document revealed that the proposal required Ukraine to share half of its rare earths and other natural resources with the United States.
The Ukrainian president detailed that the US contribution to Ukraine's military aid has been 67 billion dollars and 31.5 billion in direct budget assistance, although he stated that these figures do not reflect reality.
