Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he was “ready” to resign as leader if it meant it would bring to his country, suggesting he could swap it for NATO membership - while also pushing back against US demands for Ukraine’s critical minerals and other natural resources as part of negotiations to end the war.

Zelensky said giving the U.S. profits from Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as compensation for its wartime assistance to Kyiv has been taken off the table, but he indicated a more equitable deal was in the works.

The U.S. and Ukraine pushed divergent messages over the weekend, with Kyiv pressing for better terms to the mineral-rights deal sought by President Trump, while Washington urged Ukraine to swiftly accept the proposal already on the table.