Photo/Illutration Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Ukrainian parliament speaker, meets with The Asahi Shimbun in Kyiv on Feb. 21. (Gakushi Fujiwara)

KYIV--Ukraine wants an ironclad guarantee for its security from the United States before it relinquishes any rights to rare metals to Washington, according to the parliament speaker.

Ruslan Stefanchuk explained the country’s position to The Asahi Shimbun on Feb. 21.

Stefanchuk, a close associate of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, met Feb. 20 with Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine.

Stefanchuk, 49, and Kellogg discussed the handling of rare metals in Ukraine which Trump has suddenly seized upon in recent days as a bargaining chip to end the war.

Washington has demanded half of the rights to those resources as payment for U.S. support for Ukraine since Russia invaded. Feb 24 will mark the third anniversary of the war.

But Stefanchuk said Ukraine could never agree to such a measure unless there is a “security guarantee” for Ukraine should it again be invaded by Russia.

The speaker said any treaty with the United States regarding rare metals would have to be one in which “both sides benefit.”

One reason for the stance is the lesson that came out of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum signed by the United States, Britain and Russia, according to Stefanchuk.

Under that memorandum, Ukraine abandoned its nuclear arsenal on condition its security would be guaranteed in terms of independence, sovereignty and respect for national borders.

But in 2014, Russia unilaterally annexed Crimea and then invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Stefanchuk said the only guarantee Ukraine has right now is to be attacked.

“We do not want to make that mistake again,” he said.

Trump has become increasingly critical of Ukraine and openly hostile toward Zelensky. On Feb. 19, Trump posted that Zelensky was a “dictator,” adding in an interview two days later that the Ukrainian president would not be an important factor in any ceasefire negotiations.

Stefanchuk said Zelensky “was elected in a democratic election and he is not a dictator.”

Under Ukrainian law, presidential or parliamentary elections cannot be held under a wartime situation. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear he doesn’t mind if Stefanchuk serves as an alternative to Zelensky. But under the Ukrainian Constitution, the sitting president retains his authority until a new president is inaugurated after an election.

Among reasons for not holding an election during war, according to Stefanchuk, was the inability of soldiers to take part. He also cited the millions of Ukrainians who fled abroad as refugees after the invasion and the possibility that foreign election monitors would not be able to enter Ukraine to oversee the vote.

Terming elections a time of instability, Stefanchuk said: “Russia will use this time and will not recognize the result of an election. And Russia will do everything to push for their share” of Ukraine.

Stefanchuk pledged that an election would be held once Moscow withdraws from Ukrainian territory.

A former university law professor, Stefanchuk has known Zelensky since the mid-1990s. Stefanchuk was first elected to the Ukrainian parliament in July 2019 and became speaker in October 2021.

The three years of fighting have exacted a heavy toll on the Ukrainian population. A public opinion survey in December found that 38 percent of respondents favored surrendering Ukrainian territory if that led to an early peace and maintenance of the country’s independence.

The figure was double that from a poll in 2023.

Stefanchuk said Ukraine has never recognized any territory temporarily occupied “as a territory of another country.”

He added that the Constitution does not allow for any change to Ukraine’s borders that were internationally recognized when it gained independence in 1991.

“Every centimeter of Ukrainian territory is Ukraine,” Stefanchuk said.

Related News