U.S. Treasury Secretary gave Zelensky only an hour to sign the memorandum on minerals – The Economist

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant, during his visit to Kyiv, gave President Volodymyr Zelensky only one hour to sign an American memorandum demanding that Ukraine transfer all of its mineral resources to the United States.

This was reported by The Economist, citing sources.

At the same time, the Ukrainian president had initially hoped to discuss the continuation of financial support.

As a result, Zelensky refused to sign the document and postponed the discussion to the Munich Security Conference. There, the Americans again pressured the Ukrainian side, demanding that it pledge natural resources worth “$500 billion” in exchange for the military aid already provided.

By the end of Saturday, the Ukrainian team had negotiated a delay in implementation and agreed to begin the negotiation process.

At a press conference in Munich, Zelensky stated that Ukraine does not want to sign the document without security guarantees from the United States.

Earlier, The Washington Post also reported on Bessant’s tough stance in Kyiv.

Additionally, Reuters wrote that U.S. authorities wanted the Ukrainian president to sign the mineral agreement without even reading it.