During three years of full-scale war, Ukraine received $100 billion in aid from the United States, not the $500 billion previously announced by the US President Donald Trump.
Volodymyr Zelensky said this at a press conference.
The president emphasized that he is not ready to recognize even this $100 billion as debt. Because he agreed with former US President Joe Biden and the US Congress that the funds provided by the country were grants, not borrowed money.
“$100 billion in aid from the United States. Not 500, not 350, not 250, not 700 — Ukraine received 100 [billion dollars]. And we are very grateful for that. And the bill for this war today is $320 billion: $120 – Ukraine, $100 – Europe. [...] And $100 [billion] – the United States. This is what the economy of this war looks like,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.
The president stressed that he wants a dialogue with Trump and will not sign something that “will be paid for by 10 generations of Ukrainians”. Volodymyr Zelensky said that the main point of the agreement should be clear security guarantees for Ukraine.
The US believes that this agreement is a security guarantee, but it should say so, said President Zelensky. He said that the agreement between Ukraine and the US should be "pleasant" for both parties. Otherwise, if the agreement is "unpleasant" for one of the parties, then this is not a partnership.
What kind of agreement on Ukrainian minerals?
The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brought a pilot draft of a minerals agreement to Ukraine on February 12. Washington had hoped that Kyiv would sign it immediately. President Zelensky said that he had banned the agreement from being signed because it would not protect Ukraine’s interests — it had no connection to investments, profits, or security guarantees.
Previously, Trump had stated that Ukraine had "essentially agreed" to transfer half a trillion dollars worth of rare earth metals to Washington as payment for American military aid.
Ukraine is ready to sign an agreement on rare earth metals, but Kyiv needs security guarantees, and they were not in the agreement. Zelensky added: "The document was clear in only one thing — we must give 50% of everything that is listed there."
After refusing to sign the document, Washington made the agreement even tougher, writes the NYT. Now the US demands 100% of revenues from natural resources, including minerals, gas and oil, as well as revenues from ports and other infrastructure.
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