Zelenskyy Holds Out for Better US Security Guarantee in Natural Resources Deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) meets U.S. Vice President and U.S. Secretary of State on the sidelines of the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany, on Feb. 14, 2025. Tobias Schwarz/AFP via Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is holding out for firmer security guarantees from the United States before he’s ready to accept a deal to provide the United States with access to his country’s rare earth minerals and other natural resources.

Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump have begun discussions on a deal that could see the United States continue to provide aid to Ukraine in exchange for access to the country’s natural resources. Last week, Trump said the United States stands to gain up to $500 billion worth of Ukrainian natural resources as part of the deal.

Zelenskyy met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Feb. 12 to advance the negotiations and then with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Feb. 14, but a final agreement has yet to materialize.

As he spoke with reporters on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany, the Ukrainian leader said he has yet to see specific enough security guarantees for his country.

“That, for me, is very important: the connection between some kind of security guarantees and some kind of investment,” Zelenskyy said.

Reporters asked the Ukrainian leader to detail the proposal the Trump administration has put forth so far.

“It’s not in our interest today,” Zelenskyy replied. “Not in [the] interest of [a] sovereign Ukraine.”

Journalist Christiane Amanpour interviewed the Ukrainian leader earlier in the day on a range of topics, including the proposed deal with the United States. She pressed the Ukrainian leader to say whether he felt $500 billion worth of his country’s resources is a fair trade.

“We’re still talking,” Zelenskyy replied, without commenting more specifically on the half-trillion dollar figure that Trump has raised.

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has allocated about $174 billion for Ukraine-related aid, including weapons, financial support, and other non-security assistance.

The Epoch Times reached out to the White House for comment about the discussions on the minerals deal but did not receive a response by press time.

Trump said on Feb. 7 that the United States had committed more than $300 billion to Ukraine’s defense, while European contributions total about $100 billion.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly positioned international security guarantees for Ukraine as a key component of any final peace settlement with Russia.

Addressing the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 15, Zelenskyy called for the formation of a new multinational European military force.

“I really believe that time has come,” he said. “The armed forces of Europe must be created.”

Speaking from NATO headquarters on Feb. 12, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth advised the alliance that the United States is shifting its focus away from the European theater and said European members must do more to address their own collective security. Hegseth further rejected talk of Ukraine’s joining the alliance.

Article Five of the North Atlantic Treaty, the foundational document of the NATO alliance, stipulates that the various alliance members are to treat an attack on one member as an attack on the whole alliance and commit to assisting the member that was attacked.

“Any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops,” Hegseth told NATO allies. “If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission, and they should not be covered under Article Five.”