Donald Trump has said the US is ready to \u201ctake a pass\u201d on brokering a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine unless a settlement is reached \u201cvery shortly\u201d, as Kyiv announced it has signed a memorandum with the US over a controversial minerals deal.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy is keen to improve relations with the Trump administration. At the same time, he has so far rejected the White House\u2019s demand that revenue from the new joint fund is used to cover the cost of weapons deliveries provided by the Biden administration.<\/p>\n
Trump has previously said Ukraine \u201cowes\u201d the US $300bn (\u00a3226bn). Zelenskyy has pointed out this assistance was given as a grant, not as a loan, with Republicans and Democrats approving it in Congress. Any future partnership has to be based on \u201cparity\u201d, and should benefit both countries, he says.<\/p>\n
The deal may help US weapons manufacturers, who are facing a critical shortfall of key rare-earth minerals imported from China. Beijing has restricted its export in response to Trump\u2019s escalating trade war.<\/p>\n
Volodymyr Landa, a senior economist with the Centre for Economic Strategy thinktank in Kyiv, said the deal had gone through \u201cmultiple iterations\u201d. He added: \u201cIt\u2019s hard to say what\u2019s inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Landa said he did not expect Kyiv to accept that previous \u201cnon-refundable military aid\u201d was now \u201cdebt\u201d. \u201cThat\u2019s not only unfair and unrealistic, but may also negatively affect the full global financial system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cIf it suddenly turns out that countries and organisations can demand payments for aid given unconditionally in previous years, it will make recipients more cautious, and could reopen difficult issues from previous decades around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Source: The Guardian<\/a>.<\/p>\n