Zelenskyy rejects proposal to give US access to Ukraine’s minerals

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to make his speech during the Munich Security Conference at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich, Germany (Matthias Schrader/AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he directed his ministers not to sign off on a proposed agreement to give the United States access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals because the document was too focused on US interests.

The proposal, which was at the centre of Mr Zelenskyy’s talks with US vice president JD Vance on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, did not offer any specific security guarantees in return, according to one current and one former senior official familiar with the talks.