KYIV\/MUNICH: Talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance ended in Munich on Friday without an announcement of a critical minerals deal that is central to Kyiv\u2019s push to win the backing of President Donald Trump.
\nKyiv came back to the US earlier with a revised draft agreement of the deal that could open up its vast resources of key minerals to US investment, amid concerns in Kyiv over a US version that was presented to Ukraine on Wednesday.
\n\u201cOur teams will continue to work on the document,\u201d Zelensky wrote on X, adding that he had had a \u201cgood meeting\u201d with Vance and that Kyiv was \u201cready to move toward as quickly as possible toward a real and guaranteed peace.\u201d
\nTwo members of the Ukrainian delegation told Reuters that \u201csome details\u201d still needed to be worked out.
\nIt was not immediately clear what the sticking point was, but Ukraine is pressing for robust security guarantees from Europe and the United States that would protect it from Russia in the future if a peace deal is reached.
\nZelensky set out the contours of the deal in a Reuters interview last week, unfurling a map showing numerous mineral deposits and saying he was offering a mutually beneficial partnership to develop them jointly and not \u201cgiving them away.\u201d
\nThe minerals in question would include rare earth varieties, as well as titanium, uranium and lithium among others.
\nTrump, who has not committed to continuing vital military assistance to Ukraine, has said he wants $500 billion in rare earth minerals from Kyiv and that Washington\u2019s support needs to be \u201csecured.\u201d
\nAsked earlier if there would be a deal agreed on Friday, Vance had said: \u201cLet\u2019s see.\u201d
\nUkraine was presented with a draft accord drawn up by the United States on Wednesday when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled to Kyiv. Zelensky said Ukraine would study it with a view to reaching an agreement in Munich.<\/p>\n
Bessent told Fox Business Network on Friday that the Trump administration\u2019s plan to end the war would intertwine Kyiv\u2019s economy with the United States, with the US bringing its \u201cbest practices\u201d of privatization.
\nHe said: \u201cPart of it starts with intertwining the … Ukrainian economy more with the US, and making sure that US taxpayers receive the return for the money they put in.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KYIV\/MUNICH: Talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance ended in Munich on Friday without an announcement of a critical minerals deal that is central to Kyiv\u2019s push to win the backing of President Donald Trump. Kyiv came back to the US earlier with a revised draft agreement of the deal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461762,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-461749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n