1 month ago
Last Updated:February 26, 2025, 20:55 IST
Zelensky said that the deal could be “a big success”.
The announcement came after days of tense US-Ukraine negotiations, during which Zelenskyy accused Washington of pressuring him into a $500bn deal that he claimed would burden Ukrainians for “10 generations.” (IMAGE: REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is likely to visit the White House on Friday to sign a rare earth minerals deal to pay for military aid to defend itself against Russia in the ongoing conflict between both nations.
“I hear that he’s coming on Friday. Certainly it’s OK with me if he’d like to. And he would like to sign it together with me. And I understand that’s a big deal, very big deal," the US President said, according to the Financial Times.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday he hoped to visit Washington on Friday to strike a minerals deal with the United States and discuss future aid with President Donald Trump.
Trump has demanded Ukraine give access to its rare earth minerals to compensate for the billions of dollars of wartime aid it received under Joe Biden.
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP late Tuesday that Kyiv had agreed on the terms of the deal, which would see the United States jointly develop Ukraine’s mineral resources, and that Zelenskyy could sign it on Friday in Washington.
“I would like to have this visit very much," Zelenskyy told reporters on Wednesday.
“This is just a start, a framework, it can be a big success. The success will depend on our conversation with President Trump," he added.
Zelenskyy said that revenues from the resources deal would be deposited in a fund co-owned by Ukraine and the United States, and that Kyiv would not be “a debtor" over aid provided under the Biden administration.
“This would be unfair to us," Zelenskyy said.
He also said he would ask Trump whether Washington would halt aid altogether, and if so, whether Ukraine could still buy weapons from the United States.
Ukraine hopes the deal will improve relations with the Trump administration, which have soured in a war of words between Trump and Zelenskyy.
Kyiv also wants security guarantees, though the current draft of the deal does not place any specific security commitments on the United States, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.
Location :Kyiv, Ukraine
First Published:February 26, 2025, 20:54 IST
News world 'Very Big Deal': Trump Says Zelenskyy Likely To Sign Arms-For-Minerals Pact At White House This Week
