A former Ukrainian official criticized the U.S. document on minerals, calling it a "colonial agreement," according to AP.

The United States has proposed a "colonial agreement" to Ukraine, offering to exchange Ukrainian rare earth minerals for military aid, a former high-ranking Ukrainian official stated in a comment to Associated Press on February 16.

It was revealed earlier that on February 12, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented the draft agreement to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky declined to sign the document, stating that it lacked security guarantees and did not adequately protect Ukraine's interests.

"For me, the connection between certain security guarantees and certain investments is very important," Zelensky said.

The president did not provide details regarding the issues with the document.

"This is a colonial agreement, and Zelensky cannot sign it," said a former high-ranking Ukrainian official who spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity.

Current and former Ukrainian officials who spoke with AP stated that U.S. delegates at the Munich Security Conference did not offer any security guarantees in exchange for Ukraine's rare earth minerals.

According to a source from the outlet, American delegates were more focused on the commercial aspects of the future partnership and did not have "ready answers" on how to protect mineral deposits in Ukraine in the event of Russian aggression.

White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes called Zelensky's refusal to sign the agreement "short-sighted."

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz also urged Zelensky to accept the agreement, which he stated on Fox News on February 16.

"Zelensky would be very wise to enter into this agreement with the United States," he said, adding: "We are talking about growing the pie for the Ukrainian economy."

Waltz had previously stated that the U.S. should "reimburse" the costs of previous military aid packages to Ukraine.

The U.S. aims to acquire 50% of Ukraine's rare earth minerals, NBC reported on February 15. Washington expressed its readiness to deploy American troops to secure these resources if an agreement is reached with Russia to end the war, unnamed U.S. officials stated.

In early February, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he wanted to reach an agreement with Ukraine regarding access to rare earth minerals in exchange for continued aid. Later, Trump stated that Kyiv had "essentially agreed" to a resource deal worth $500 billion.

Ukraine, on the other hand, claims that it is open to developing resource extraction partnerships with the U.S. and other partners in exchange for security guarantees.