Ukraine considering deal to give US $500B in natural resources after pressure from Washington
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seriously considering a revised deal with the US to relinquish the rights of more than $500 billion of natural resources as repayment for wartime aid, despite previously objecting to its terms, according to reports.The progress came after days of negotiations and pressure from Washington to reach a deal, which would propel an end to Ukraine’s brutal war with Russia.In a related development, President Trump said Saturday that a new phase of cease-fire negotiations between the US and Russia will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, starting Tuesday.
It does not appear that Ukrainian representatives were invited to the new round of talks.Monday marks the third anniversary of the bloody conflict.Ukrainian officials said Saturday that Russia has seen 866,000 troops wounded or killed on the battlefield since the invasion.
US officials estimate Ukraine loses between 60,000 and 70,000 soldiers, according to the Institute for the Study of War, while Ukraine puts its casualty count at 46,000 dead and 390,000 wounded.In the deliberations with the US, Zelensky fought for weapons and security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression in exchange for access to its valuable rare earth materials, factors that held up previous talks.It is not clear if the new deal includes such provisions.“Any deal that can be made has to be mutually beneficial,” a spokesperson for the Ukrainian president’s office told The Post Friday.In his nightly address Friday, Zelensky said the deal being worked on has the potential to strengthen relations between Ukraine and the US and that he is hoping for a “fair result.”The deal could strip Ukraine of revenue from natural resources and other earnings that could help it rebuild after the war.Ukrainian sources blasted the revised deal as not reflecting any “partnership” and containing “only unilateral commitments” from Ukraine that would cost it more than its defense was worth, Sky News rep...