Donald Trump‘s administration has presented Ukraine with an “improved” draft agreement on minerals, after the refusal of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to sign the original proposal, which caused the US president’s strong displeasure.

This development is confirmed by Ukrainian and American officials, as well as three independent sources cited by Axios.

The disagreement exacerbated already strained relations between the two leaders, with Trump calling Zelensky “dictator” for choosing war with Russia, while the Ukrainian president accused Trump of adopting the “Russian disinformation”.

However, according to Axios, the possibility of reaching an agreement now seems more realistic.

A source with knowledge of the negotiations said that close associates of Zelensky urged him to sign the revised proposal in order to avoid further conflict with Trump and ensure continued US support for Ukraine.

“The new plan includes significant improvements and is in line with Ukrainian law,” the source said.

US national security adviser Mike Walch called on Zelensky to return to the negotiating table. “This is a negotiation. Ukraine wants to discuss minerals and that’s why we’re talking,” a White House official said.

Ukraine has vast reserves of rare earth, essential for cutting-edge technologies.

Although the deal is not directly linked to a possible peace settlement for the war in Ukraine, the two issues have been at the center of developments this week.

The timeline for Ukraine-US economic cooperation

The idea of a Ukraine-US economic cooperation was first raised by Zelensky last September during his meeting with Trump in New York.

Last week, hours before US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent met Zelensky in Kiev, the US embassy delivered a draft minerals deal.

The original draft stipulated that 50 percent of the proceeds would go to the U.S., the deal would be governed by New York law and would take precedence over any other Ukrainian trade deal, according to two sources who read the document.

Besent, in his meeting with Zelensky, conveyed Trump’s demand for an immediate signature. The Ukrainian president refused, saying he could not commit to an agreement he had just received.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials expressed frustration that the US plan did not include any security guarantees for Ukraine, while Washington excluded it from US-Russia talks on the country’s future.