Senior White House Official Says Ukraine's Zelensky is Being 'Short-Sighted' For Not Agreeing To Give U.S. Access To Rare Earths

A senior White House official said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is being "short-sighted" for not agreeing to give the U.S. access to the country's rare earths.

The U.S. proposed Ukraine allow the U.S. use of its rare earth minerals as "compensation" for previous military aid as well as future aid, current and former Ukrainian officials told the Associated Press. However, Zelensky reportedly declined the proposal because he asserted that it prioritized U.S. interests over Ukrainian ones.

"President Zelensky is being short-sighted about the excellent opportunity the Trump administration has presented to Ukraine," White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes told the outlet.

Hughes added that the Trump administration believes that "binding economic ties" is "the best guarantee against future aggression." Meanwhile, an anonymous senior official told the outlet that the proposal failed to answer questions about how the minerals would be accessed if Russian aggression continued.

"I didn't let the ministers sign a relevant agreement because in my view it is not ready to protect us, our interest," Zelenskyy said.

U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz rejected reports that European officials were being left out of Ukraine-Russia talks during on "Fox News Sunday," adding that he thought it would be "wise" for Zelensky to enter an agreement with the U.S.

"The American people deserve to be recouped, deserve to have some type of payback for the billions they have invested in this war," Waltz said.

Originally published in Latin Times