US President Donald Trump has claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is attempting to withdraw from a rare earth minerals agreement with the United States.

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Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump warned that if Zelenskyy tries to renegotiate the deal, he will face “big, big problems.”

“I think Zelensky, by the way, he’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal, and if he does that, he’s got some problems, big, big problems,” Trump stated.

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The agreement, which was expected to grant the US access to Ukraine’s oil, gas, and mineral resources through a joint investment fund, was originally set to be signed on 28 February. However, the signing was postponed following a dispute at the White House, where US Vice President JD Vance reportedly criticised Zelenskyy for being ungrateful.

Zelensky insists on protecting Ukraine’s EU accession

Zelensky has maintained that Ukraine will not accept any agreement that could jeopardise its bid to join the European Union.

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“Nothing that could endanger…Ukraine’s accession to the EU can be accepted,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday.

Also read: After Trump’s ‘angry’ remarks, Kremlin says Putin ‘open’ to call with US president ‘if deemed necessary’

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reinforced this stance on Sunday, stating, “We can see this Russian strategy and will never accept anything that leaves Ukraine weak or defenceless.”

“To the contrary, a real and fair peace requires strong and long-term security guarantees to preserve it,” he added.

Ukraine Seeks Changes to Deal, Russia Engages in Minerals Talks with US

According to Ukrainian reports, the latest draft of the minerals agreement included provisions that had not been discussed previously, as well as some that had already been rejected by both sides.

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Bloomberg reported that Ukraine is seeking modifications that would require the US to commit more investment while also clarifying how the joint reconstruction fund would function.

Meanwhile, Russian state media has reported that Moscow and Washington have begun discussions on their own rare earth minerals cooperation.

“Rare earth metals are an important area for cooperation, and we have certainly started discussions about various rare earth metals and projects in Russia,” said Kirill Dmitriev, Putin’s envoy on international economic and investment cooperation.

Also read: ‘Putin knows I’m angry’: Trump ‘pissed off’ over anti-Zelensky remarks, warns of secondary oil tariffs on Russia

(With inputs from agencies)