Kyiv and Washington are engaged in talks over a deal to hand the United States preferential access to Ukraine’s mineral deposits, a source in Kyiv told AFP on Friday — despite a dramatic spat between the leaders Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump.
Prompting ire in Washington, Kyiv rejected a first attempt by Trump’s team to strike a deal for Ukraine’s natural resources, saying the proposal did not include security guarantees for Kyiv.
Since then a bitter public feud between Trump and Zelensky has erupted, with Trump saying Ukraine was to blame for Russia invading it and claiming Zelensky was hugely unpopular among his own people.
Dismayed at his repetition of debunked Kremlin narratives, Zelensky said Trump had succumbed to Russian “disinformation.”
Despite the tensions, talks on a possible resources agreement were “ongoing” on Friday, a senior Ukrainian official with knowledge of the matter told AFP.
“There is a constant exchange of drafts, we sent another one yesterday,” the source said, adding that Ukraine was now waiting for a US response.
Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on Thursday publicly told Kyiv to “take a hard look and sign that deal”.
Trump wants Ukraine to give US companies access as compensation for tens of billions of dollars of aid delivered under his predecessor Joe Biden.
But Ukraine is seeking security guarantees from the United States in exchange for signing away precious rights to vast amounts of its natural resources and critical minerals.
It is pressing for NATO membership or for the deployment of Western troops and masses of advanced equipment as part of any wider ceasefire agreement with Russia.
Zelensky said earlier this week he would not “sell” Ukraine in any deal with the United States.
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