US President Donald Trump has offered a deal worth $500 billion for war-torn Ukraine to take control of half of the European country's natural resources, including having access to its rare earth minerals, oil and gas, and ports and infrastructure, according to a draft agreement seen by British newspaper The Telegraph.
The report added that if Ukraine accepts the US demands, dated February 7, it would amount to a higher share of Ukrainian GDP than Germany's First World War reparations. Washington's conditions are even harsher than the sanctions imposed on Germany and Japan following their defeat in the Second World War in 1945.
However, it is highly unlikely Ukraine will accept the US offer as its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that he told his ministers not to sign a deal that exclusively gives US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals since the proposal focused too much on US interests, The Associated Press reported.
Here's what the US has offered
The US's eyes are on the "tremendously valuable land in terms of rare earths, in terms of oil and gas", as Trump told Fox News earlier in an interview.
As part of the $500-billion payback deal, the US would receive 50 per cent of profits from the extraction of natural resources and get 50 per cent of the value of new licences if Ukraine issues new licences to third parties.
The agreement, which will be governed by law, will also allow the US to have sovereign immunity to purchase exported minerals in Ukraine. The American fund will get a preferential right to determine the terms of future investment projects, according to The Telegraph.
According to the document, the US and Ukraine will establish a joint investment fund to ensure that hostile parties to the war do not take advantage of the reconstruction projects in Ukraine.
Trump's warning
The US president has warned that Ukraine would be handed over to Russian President Vladimir Putin "on a plate" if Kyiv rejected the deal. "They may make a deal. They may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday. But I want this money back," he added.
"I didn’t let the ministers sign a relevant agreement because in my view it is not ready to protect us, our interest," Zelenskyy told The Associated Press in Munich on February 15.
In September last year, Zelenskyy proposed giving the US a direct stake in Ukraine's critical minerals when he met Trump at the Trump Tower in a bid to ensure the smooth delivery of US arms supplies.
He invited US companies to invest in Ukraine, creating a situation that would bar Putin from launching further attacks on the neighbouring country.