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Ukraine ready to sign minerals deal: Zelenskyy

Author
AFP,
Publish Date
Mon, 3 Mar 2025, 1:46pm

Ukraine ready to sign minerals deal: Zelenskyy

Author
AFP,
Publish Date
Mon, 3 Mar 2025, 1:46pm

Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals deal with the United States, told UK media on Sunday.

鈥淭he agreement that鈥檚 on the table will be signed if the parties are ready,鈥 he told a late-night huddle with some UK media after a landmark summit in London.

The deal, which was supposed to be a step towards helping to end the conflict in Ukraine, fell through on Friday after .

鈥淚t is our policy to continue what happened in the past. We鈥檙e constructive,鈥 Zelenskyy said, quoted by the BBC.

鈥淚f we agreed to sign the minerals deal, we鈥檙e ready to sign it.鈥

Zelenskyy had travelled to Washington for a full White House visit on Friday to sign a US-Ukrainian deal for the joint exploitation of Ukraine鈥檚 vast mineral resources, as part of a post-war recovery in a US-brokered peace deal.

But in their Oval Office meeting, Trump berated Zelenskyy, telling him to be more 鈥渢hankful鈥 for US support in the three-year war and that without US assistance Ukraine would have been conquered by Russia.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e either going to make a deal or we鈥檙e out,鈥 Trump added. 鈥淎nd if we鈥檙e out, you鈥檒l fight it out and I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 going to be pretty.鈥

The US leader had previously said the proposed minerals deal would be 鈥渧ery fair鈥.

The proposal was to give Washington financial benefits for helping Ukraine in a truce, even if Trump has repeatedly refused to commit any US military force as a back-up to European troops who might act as peacekeepers.

After , Zelenskyy drove off in his motorcade shortly after having been asked to leave, without holding a planned joint press conference. The resources deal was left unsigned, the White House said.

at a summit hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer who said many European leaders had pledged to spend more on security and assemble a coalition to defend any truce.

French President Emmanuel Macron, flying back from the London summit, said in a newspaper interview that France and Britain wanted to propose a partial one-month truce with Russia.

漏 Agence France-Presse

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