Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to sign a draft agreement that would hand over half of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals to U.S. companies in exchange for military aid, two people familiar with the negotiations said.

The deal has not yet been signed. The parties are still negotiating the details, said a Ukrainian official who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the talks.

Lawyers are still working on it. In their proposal, the Americans described a very complex mechanism by which they want to get 50 percent of Ukraine’s minerals.

He added that the plan could fail because it could conflict with Ukrainian law.

Kiev has been trying for some time to interest the U.S. president, known for his pragmatic approach, in seeing Ukraine’s mineral wealth as a solid reason for continued support in the fight against Russian aggression. Close associates of Donald Trump suggest that the minerals deal could serve as a kind of “economic shield” that would show Moscow that the United States has specific interests in Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Trump said that Ukraine should provide $500 billion of its mineral resources to compensate for US military and civilian aid since the beginning of the war. Despite everything, negotiations are still ongoing, and an agreement has not yet been reached.

The Ukrainian side has sent its proposal to the US side, and now they are waiting for feedback. While the Americans are analyzing the Ukrainian proposals, we are considering theirs, the official explained.

A person familiar with the negotiations told Politico: “The Americans are not satisfied with the proposals they received from Ukraine.”

An additional problem with the US draft, it is claimed, lies in the fact that it does not include specific security guarantees for Ukraine. The only possible security component would be the deployment of US troops to protect mining sites, but only in the event of an agreement to end the war with Russia.

The issue of mineral exploitation has become one of the key issues in maintaining US support for Ukraine. On Thursday, the Ukrainian president’s meeting with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance at the Munich Security Conference was postponed from the morning until the evening, as the Ukrainians sought to make last-minute changes to the proposed minerals deal.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Zelensky discussed the issue at a reception for U.S. officials in Munich on Thursday night, according to a person familiar with the conversation. The conversation implied, though not explicitly stated, that the United States would protect its interests in a “joint business venture.”

According to U.S. lawmakers who met with Zelensky in Munich, the Ukrainian president stressed that he was carefully studying the U.S. proposal to make sure it was in line with Ukrainian law.

I think he acted responsibly, said Republican Senator Tom Tillis. “He said he would study the proposal in detail and see if it was in line with their laws, their constitution and things like that.

One of the key proponents of the deal, Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Donald Trump, said he was trying to convince the president of Ukraine’s importance by highlighting its mineral wealth. He even showed him a map of the most valuable finds, he said.

For me, it’s crucial to show that Ukraine has real value, Graham said on the sidelines of a conference in Munich. “Trump now looks at Ukraine differently… I told him, ‘These people are sitting on a gold mine! Look at the map!’”

Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant visited Kiev and presented Zelensky with a draft economic cooperation agreement, which included the exploitation of rare earth minerals. After meeting with Besant, Zelensky said: “We want to sign this agreement as soon as possible. Time is not on our side, and we don’t want to waste it.”

The deal would send a strong signal to the Russian leadership of America’s commitment to Ukraine. It will also send a clear message to the American people that money invested in Ukraine has a concrete economic basis, shared values ​​and security interests, Bessent said.

Even before the US presidential election, Ukraine began to promote its mineral wealth as a potential basis for cooperation with the United States.

Thus, in September, Zelensky presented to Trump the so-called “plan for victory”, in which Ukraine offered its strategic partners joint protection of key raw materials, as well as joint investments in their exploration and exploitation. According to data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ukraine possesses deposits of 22 of the 50 minerals that the US administration has identified as key to the technological and defense sectors. Among them, rich deposits of graphite, lithium, titanium, beryllium and ur