US Vice President takes tougher stance than Trump on Ukraine's minerals talks - Bloomberg

According to the media resource, some European officials who had private meetings with Vance describe his interactions as professional and less overtly political than his public appearances.

Bloomberg reports that European officials familiar with the ongoing negotiations to smooth over the rift between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and to get them to sign the proposed deal on mineral resources said that Vance often took a tougher position than Trump. At the same time, his approach contrasts with the views of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and US Special Envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, who, it turned out, took more moderate positions.

Mineral resources agreement

The US government proposed that Ukraine sign an agreement that would involve transferring a portion of Ukraine's rare-earth metals to the US. In Washington, they proposed to Kyiv the creation of a $500 billion fund, into which the proceeds from the sale of rare-earth resources would be directed.

However, Zelenskyy emphasized that the amount of support was $100 billion, and it could not be considered a debt.

Later, the Financial Times, citing sources, reported that Ukraine and the US had agreed on the details of the rare-earth metals deal. The document noted that Ukraine was ready to sign an agreement involving joint development of its mineral resources with the US, including oil and gas.

Ukraine and the US were supposed to sign the mineral resources agreement on Friday, February 28. On that day, President Zelenskyy was visiting Washington. However, due to the argument between Trump and Zelensky, this did not happen.

Recently, the Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, held talks with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. They agreed on a meeting of the two countries' negotiating teams in the near future.