The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, expressed hope that the initial agreement with the United States on rare earths will pave the way for further cooperation. However, he confirmed that so far no US security guarantees have been reached. The agreement was described as a general “framework” rather than a binding arrangement.

Zelensky referred to the creation of a common fund into which 50% of Ukraine’s natural resource revenues would be deposited. However, he stressed that it is “too early” to hold discussions on the financial aspects of the agreement.

“We will not return even 10 cents”

Referring to statements by Donald Trump, who has asked Ukraine to return the billions of dollars of military aid it has received from the US, Zelensky clarified that the agreement does not provide for the return of even “ten cents.”

The Ukrainian president also said that if he visits the White House on Friday, he will be “very direct” on the question of whether Washington will continue to support Ukraine.

Asked by the BBC whether he would pull out of the deal if Trump did not offer the desired security guarantees, Zelensky replied, “I want to find a path to NATO or something like that.” He added that without security guarantees, “there will be no ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing will work.”