US in Munich demanded Ukraine sign mineral deal immediately for meeting with US vice president
The US side at the Munich Security Conference demanded that Ukraine immediately agree to their version of the mineral resources deal in exchange for aid, otherwise, they threatened to prevent a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance. However, the pressure stopped after Kyiv refused, and the meeting took place anyway.
The details that European Pravda has found out from Ukrainian and American sources behind the scenes of the Munich Security Conference indicate that the unexpected postponement of the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US Vice President JD Vance was due to the US demand that Ukraine agree to their vision of the "mineral resources for aid" agreement and sign the document.
At first, Kyiv perceived the American statements that they expected Zelenskyy to sign the document in Munich as a figurative turn of phrase: "We want to sign as soon as possible," but the expectations turned out to be literal.
Ukraine was required to sign the document immediately to meet with Vance and negotiate the outlines of peace, and they gave time until the evening to agree on amendments.
The US was not prepared to alter the parameters, as reported by European Pravda sources. One of the sources said that after Ukraine provided the Americans with a revised version of the agreement in an attempt to reach a compromise, they revoked all of the important amendments and insisted that Ukraine either sign what was given or nothing at all, and that a meeting with Vance could only take place as part of a package that included the signing.
When Zelenskyy refused to sign the document in Munich in the form that the White House had insisted on, the harsh pressure from American negotiators suddenly disappeared, and instead, constructive talks with Vance ensued.
On Monday, 17 February, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is interested in signing an agreement with the US on the use of mineral resources, but only after it is revised to take into account the country's key interests.