Vance and Rubio claim Zelensky is reneging on mineral deal discussionspublished at 15:55 Greenwich Mean Time
Image source, Reuters
American and Ukrainian officials convened during the Munich Security Conference last weekend.
US Vice President JD Vance has endorsed Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s claim that Volodymyr Zelensky has reversed his stance on last week’s mineral deal discussions.
In an interview with American journalist Catherine Herridge, Rubio asserted that Zelensky had tentatively agreed to a deal which would allow the US to receive a portion of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for prior and ongoing aid.
“[Zelensky] indicated, ‘Sure, we want to proceed with this deal; it makes perfect sense. However, I need to pass it through my legislative process – it must be approved,'” Rubio stated.
“Yet, two days later I saw Zelensky publicly declaring: ‘I rejected the deal, there’s no way we’re proceeding with that,’ which contradicts what was discussed in the meeting. That’s understandably frustrating,” he added.
Vance shared a snippet from the interview, external on his X account, commenting, “What Secretary Rubio is saying here is exactly correct.”
Zelensky has contended that the agreement is “not a serious discussion,” citing the lack of sufficient security measures for Ukraine and his refusal to “sell” his nation.
Special envoy Keith Kellogg was also in attendance at the Munich meeting but has yet to comment on the discussions.
