US Treasury chief says ready to help Ukraine in exchange for its resources

TheUSA wants to conclude an agreement on economic cooperation with Ukraine in exchange for material assistance to Kiev. This was stated by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a February 12 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (his term expired on May 20, 2024).

"The US wants to conclude an economic cooperation agreement with Ukraine in exchange for continued support," Bessent said.

He said the critical minerals deal is part of a larger peace agreement. Bessent said it would provide Ukraine with a "security shield" after the conflict ends.

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Previously, on February 10, Trump said that Washington would not help Kiev gratuitously; as a response to the assistance, the US expects to get access to Ukraine's rare earth metals. Zelensky said in an interview with British newspaper The Guardian that he himself offered this to Trump back in September 2024.

Volodymyr Oliynyk, a former Verkhovna Rada deputy and a member of the international public movement Other Ukraine, said in a conversation with Izvestia on February 11 that the Ukrainian leader had "not only betrayed the Ukrainian people, but also sold out" by the deal with the transfer of rare-earth metals to the United States.

Verkhovna Rada deputy Daniil Hetmantsev said on 10 February that over the past 30 years all licenses and permits for profitable deposits in Ukraine had been handed out to private individuals, and now Kiev can no longer offer its partners anything.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on February 6 pointed out that Trump's words offering assistance to Kiev in return for Ukraine's rare-earth metals sounded more like an "aport" command than a deal.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.