Kiev (dpa -Afx) – Ukraine does not want to recognize the military aid granted from the United States as a loan in the fight against the Russian aggression war. “We are grateful for the support – but this is not a loan, and we don’t allow it,” said President Wolodymyr Selenskyj journalists in Kiev.
He confirmed the preservation of a new design for a raw material agreement from Washington. This differed “completely from the previous framework agreement,” said Selenskyj. There are now points that have already been rejected in the previous negotiations. Selenskyj emphasized that Ukraine would not sign anything that disturb their EU accession process.
In media reports, there was previously talk of a 58-page document. According to the information, this is written entirely in favor of the United States and would give Washington control over future investments in Ukrainian infrastructure and the breakdown of raw materials. At the end of February, the signing of the framework agreement after a public dispute in the White House between Selenskyj and US President Donald Trump failed.
Ukraine has been fighting against the Russian invasion with Western help for more than three years. So far, the United States has been one of the main supporters.
Shortly after taking office in January, Trump had made help for the Ukraine attacked by Russia to access to their stock of rare earths. The exploitation of raw materials in Ukraine is considered strategically significant and economically lucrative. A large part of the resources also lies in the Ukrainian areas occupied by Russia./ast/dp/he