The Trump government may seek to conclude a simplified mineral agreement with Ukraine to quickly conclude an agreement and later negotiate detailed terms, such as how many of Ukraine’s huge resources will be held by the US, Reuters told Reuters on Wednesday. with knowledge of the subject.

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski It rejected the US detailed proposal last week, according to which Washington would receive 50% of Ukraine’s critical minerals, including graphite, uranium, titanium and lithium, the latest essential ingredient in electric cars batteries.

This episode made it clear that reaching a full agreement would take time, sources said. However, the US president Donald Trump wants an agreement with Ukraine before it may allow more US military support in Kiev or to proceed with an effort to mediate formal peace talks between Ukraine and Russia to end the three -year war, which was caused by its invasion of Moscow. .

Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, Keith Klogeis in Kiev this week to discuss the parameters of a revised pact and what Ukraine needs in exchange for the signature. Zelenski said he would meet with Kloge on Thursday “And it is vital for us this meeting – and overall cooperation with America – to be constructive.”

When asked if US officials would continue to pursue an agreement, a Trump adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, he said of Zelenski: “Absolutely, we must restore this guy to reality”.

Pressure for an agreement continues despite the widening rift between Trump and Zelenski.

Trump denounced his Ukrainian counterpart as ‘Dictator without elections’ Wednesday, after Zelenski said Trump was ‘Trapped in a Russian misinformation bubble’an answer to the US president who said Ukraine began the war.

The United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid in Ukraine over the past three years, and Trump said US investment in Ukrainian minerals could ensure ‘That we will take this money back in some form’. It is pushing for Kiev to grant the US in the US $ 500 billion of minerals to recognize Washington’s aid.

Sources said it is important for Trump to be able to publicly announce to the American people that the US is recovering the help.

Less ‘predator’

It is not clear to what extent the original US proposal was framed as compensation for previous arms missions or future installments. However, Zelenski said he focused very much on US interests and had no security guarantees for Kiev.

‘I can’t sell our country’he told reporters on Wednesday.

A third source knowing the matter said Ukraine is willing to make an agreement with the Trump government. Another source also said that Kiev was ready to make an agreement, but that it should not look as “predator” as the deal initially proposed by the US.

Details of US discussions on a possible mineral agreement, including who has helped the original proposal from the administration, are unknown.

The revised approach is just one of the many discussed in the White House on how to conclude an agreement with Kiev in the coming weeks, an unusually fast timetable for a complex sector where agreements usually include private companies and state entities, not governments.

Trump reiterated his frustration Wednesday that most of the US aid were grants, while Europe said, mainly that it was lending. ‘The United States is not getting anything back’, he said.

He also criticized Zelenski’s rejection of 50-50, describing it as a violation of an agreement without any evidence that Kiev had actually agreed on it. “We had an agreement that did not adhere to, they broke this agreement … They broke it two days ago”said Trump.

The minerals and Russia

A revised, simplified approach would help the United States to bypass numerous legal and logistical obstacles and give them time to negotiate the details of growth, including revenue distribution, on a later date.

“The US has not used historical exchanges of natural resources for help, but it is a tested tool in China’s mineral book”said the Grassin BaskaranDirector of the Critical Mineral Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“Ukraine is strongly interested in building a deeper economic security relationship with the United States and must find a way to recognize the important American investment already made for Ukraine’s future.”said the Tyson Barker, Former US Deputy Special Envoy for Ukraine’s economic recovery.

“Ukrainians are more than willing to give additional advantages to the United States, in the form of privileged access to critical mineral resources in recognition of billions of dollars that US taxpayers have given Ukraine.”he said. “This is something that Ukrainians have been planning for some time.”

Barker said that some similar terms should be established in other countries that have contributed significantly to Ukraine during the war, including Canada, Britain, Japan and the EU.

But Russia also wants Ukraine’s natural resources, its forces (which have already occupied one fifth of Ukraine, including rare land reserves), are now just more than 4 miles from a giant lithium deposit.

Ukraine and the United States must discuss the fate of minerals in areas occupied by Russia, Zelenski said, questioning that minerals in these areas will be given to the Russian president Vladimir Putin and to his partners, Iran, North Korea and China.