On March 12, President Volodymyr Zelensky officially confirmed that Ukraine is ready to sign a framework agreement with the United States on rare earth metals. He made this statement while talking to journalists about the results of negotiations in Saudi Arabia.
Points of attention
- The failure to sign the subsoil agreement previously led to a deterioration in relations between Ukraine and the US, impacting military aid and intelligence exchange.
- President Trump acknowledged President Zelenskyy's commitment to the agreement and praised Ukraine's willingness to cooperate under his leadership.
Ukraine to sign subsoil agreement
According to the head of state, Ukraine is ready to sign a framework agreement and considers this as the first step.
We've always talked about it. Honestly, I thought we'd sign it sooner. There's nothing to talk about. There's no secrets behind the scenes. We're ready.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine
What is important to understand is that following negotiations in Saudi Arabia on March 11, Kyiv and Washington finally reached an agreement on the development of Ukraine's critical mineral resources.
It was precisely because of the failure to sign the document that relations between the countries deteriorated, causing Donald Trump to block military aid to Ukraine and the exchange of intelligence.
During a recent speech to Congress last week, the US president emphasized that he appreciated the willingness of the Ukrainian president to sign a mineral extraction agreement and sit at the negotiating table under his leadership.
