European leaders in Kyiv to mark 3 years of war, but top US officials stay away
Still reeling from Trump calling Zelensky a ‘dictator’, Kyiv said it was in final stages of deal with US to provide access to mineral wealth
Ukraine hosted European leaders on Monday to mark three years of all-out war with Russia, while top US officials stayed away in a clear illustration of US President Donald Trump’s lurch towards Moscow since returning to power.
Still reeling from Trump calling President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” and seeking elections that are banned by martial law, Kyiv said it was in the final stages of agreeing a deal with Washington to provide access to its mineral wealth.
The deal is at the heart of Kyiv’s bid to win US support, but officials have wrangled over its wording in the shadow of an extraordinary war of words between Trump and Zelensky, who said the US leader was living in a “disinformation bubble”.
Zelensky refused to sign an earlier draft as Washington sought US$500 billion in natural wealth, protesting that Kyiv had received nowhere near that much US aid and that the draft lacked the security guarantees Ukraine needs.
A Ukrainian government source told Reuters that Kyiv awaited US feedback on the “final changes” it had sent. The source said the US did not like the idea of including wording about providing security guarantees in the text.
“We see the issue of guarantees for the talks between presidents,” the source said.