(C) Common Dreams
This story was originally published by Common Dreams and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Zelensky Pushes Back Against U.S. Mineral Deal and Announces European Summit [1]

['Constant Méheut', 'Andrew E. Kramer']

Date: 2025-02-23

President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back on Sunday against demands from the Trump administration for billions in Ukrainian natural resources and for holding peace talks that exclude Ukraine, while announcing plans for a major summit of European leaders on Monday.

The Ukrainian leader’s efforts to shore up European support while pressing ahead on negotiations with the United States came despite ominous messages from President Trump in recent days belittling Mr. Zelensky and issuing threats if Ukraine does not soon agree to a minerals deal.

Mr. Zelensky suggested that in assailing Ukraine, Mr. Trump had chosen the wrong adversary.

“Peace through force, but toward Russia, not in the other direction,” Mr. Zelensky said of how he would like to see American efforts to end the war.

Mr. Zelensky, speaking at a news conference in Kyiv, said that he was willing to step down if it meant peace in Ukraine. His remark came days after Mr. Trump questioned his legitimacy and called him a “dictator without elections,” echoing a Kremlin talking point.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/world/europe/ukraine-trump-mineral-deal.html

Published and (C) by Common Dreams
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0..

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/commondreams/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.