A rare earth minerals agreement between the United States and Ukraine was not finalized on Friday, reportedly due to tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Sources suggest that the disagreement stemmed from unresolved issues within the deal, which aimed to grant the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth mineral resources in exchange for economic and military support. Zelensky expressed concerns about the lack of security guarantees for Ukraine and perceived the terms as disproportionately favoring U.S. interests.
The proposed agreement, which had been under negotiation for weeks, involved establishing a joint investment fund to develop Ukraine’s mineral sector. However, disagreements over revenue sharing and control of the fund further complicated discussions. The Trump administration initially demanded significant mineral concessions as compensation for U.S. aid provided during the ongoing war in Ukraine, a condition that Zelensky rejected as unacceptable.
Tensions escalated after Trump criticized Zelensky’s leadership and accused him of stalling negotiations, while Zelensky countered that the proposed deal did not reflect a balanced partnership. Despite these setbacks, both sides have signaled a willingness to revisit negotiations with revised terms in the future.