Pars Today – American officials have admitted that Washington does not consider the signing of a deal to transfer Ukraine’s mines to the U.S. sufficient and is seeking something beyond that.
NBC News reported on Monday that unnamed American officials believe that while a group of U.S. and Ukrainian officials are preparing to meet this week in Saudi Arabia, Donald Trump, the U.S. President, privately informed his aides that a mining agreement signed between Washington and Kyiv would not be enough to resume aid to war-torn Ukraine.
According to Pars Today, these American officials stated that Trump is also seeking to change the perspective of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, regarding peace negotiations. He wants to pressure Zelenskyy into granting concessions, such as ceding territory to Russia.
On the other hand, Trump will also ask Zelenskyy to take steps toward holding elections in Ukraine and stepping down from his position.
In this context, Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said: “With the meetings being held in Saudi Arabia, we eagerly await further positive developments and hope that the war between Russia and Ukraine will ultimately come to an end.”
The U.S., with its excessive demands, had requested $500 billion worth of Ukraine’s mineral resources in exchange for Washington’s aid to Kyiv. However, Zelenskyy rejected this offer, stating that U.S. aid to Ukraine during the war has no relation to such an amount.
Zelenskyy also noted: “None of the security guarantees that Ukraine has requested as part of a peace agreement were included in the U.S. proposal.”
Reports now indicate that Zelenskyy is retreating.
MG/ME
