Raw materials deal not signed after dispute

This is the second attempt to sign such an agreement that has failed. Last week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent returned from Ukraine without having achieved anything after Zelenskyi refused to sign the document. A revised draft was then on the table in Washington. Trump had already reacted angrily after the first failure and called Zelensky a "dictator".

Meeting broken off after unprecedented dispute

The two were supposed to have held a lengthy meeting in Washington and then a joint press conference. The agreement should also have been signed in this context. However, the meeting was broken off prematurely after an unprecedented argument between the two statesmen in front of the cameras. Selensky got into a vehicle parked in front of the West Wing and drove off, as seen on television.

The exploitation of raw materials in Ukraine is considered strategically important and economically lucrative. Experts point out that Ukraine will also need rare earths and other raw materials for its own reconstruction. A large proportion of the resources are also located in the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.

Rare earths and other metals such as lithium belong to the group of so-called critical raw materials, which are the basis for a number of important products and technologies. These include, for example, permanent magnets for electric vehicles and wind turbines.