Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego has criticised Ukraine's intention to finalise an agreement granting the United States access to its rare earth minerals, slamming the move as "stupidity," as reported by Anadolu Agency.

Petro expressed his disapproval on an X post on February 26, stating that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's "foolish" decision was driven by Western European influence and would ultimately lead to Ukraine yielding to American interests.

He further commented on the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, referring to them as "Slavic siblings."

“Zelenskyy's stupidity, and I say this clearly, for allowing himself to be manipulated by Western Europeans, who do not know where they are going, whether towards Hitler or towards nothing; they fight with their Slavic brothers and end up giving Ukraine to the Americans. !Stupidity!,” Petro said. 

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi was quick to hit back, rebuffing the Colombian leader's remarks. Responding on X, Tykhyi said it is a "real stupidity to call Ukrainians 'brothers' of Russians," drawing parallels to Colombia's independence struggle under Simon Bolivar. The ministry expressed confidence that "friendly Colombian people" do not support Petro's views.

The mooted deal involves Ukraine sharing a portion of its critical mineral revenues with the US, aiming to secure economic support amid ongoing hostilities with Russia. President Donald Trump has indicated that Zelenskyy is expected to visit Washington soon to sign the agreement, which could be valued up to $500bn.

Trump has boasted about the supposed financial benefits for the US, framing the deal as a form of repayment for the extensive aid provided to Ukraine during the three-year war that followed Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The final draft requires Kyiv to create a fund and allocate 50% of revenue from the future monetisation of state-owned mineral resources, including oil, gas, and related logistics, the Financial Times reported. The fund would be reportedly used to invest in Ukrainian industries.

However, the agreement has been met with criticism from various quarters. Additionally, the true scale of the country's rare earth deposits and lack of explicit security guarantees for Ukraine in exchange for its valuable resources have raised questions about the long-term implications of the deal.