Zelenskyy and Trump to Hold Meeting in Washington for Minerals Agreement Signing
A recently negotiated minerals agreement would open up Ukraine’s extensive mineral resources to the United States.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday to finalize a minerals deal as Kyiv aims to bolster American support during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
This meeting will mark the first encounter between the two leaders since Trump resumed office in January.
Since taking office last month, Trump has changed the U.S. approach toward the conflict, moving from the previous administration’s policy of avoiding engagement with the Kremlin to initiating peace discussions with Moscow.
Trump has expressed a desire to swiftly conclude the war, improve relations with Russia, and reimburse the United States for its expenditures to support Ukraine.
Previously, under the former administration, Zelenskyy received billions in U.S. military aid and strong international support.
Additionally, Trump has called on European nations to increase their national defense spending instead of relying on U.S. assistance.
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The minerals agreement negotiated recently would make Ukraine’s extensive mineral resources accessible to the United States, though it does not include any U.S. security guarantees.
This agreement allows Washington to recover a portion of the billions allocated to Kyiv via a reconstruction investment fund linked to the sales of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
Zelenskyy emphasized the need for clarity from the United States on its ongoing military support.
According to the agreement that Trump and Zelenskyy are expected to sign, Ukraine will contribute 50 percent of “all revenues generated from the future monetization of all relevant Ukrainian Government-owned natural resource assets” to a reconstruction fund jointly owned and overseen by the U.S. and Ukraine.
The specifics regarding the application of these funds and the identification of specific assets remain unspecified, although the agreement indicates it will include mineral, oil, and natural gas deposits as well as infrastructure such as gas terminals and ports.
A more comprehensive agreement regarding the establishment of the fund will be developed once the preliminary agreement is finalized.
In recent weeks, Trump has been critical of Zelenskyy’s management of the war, labeling him a dictator and pushing for the minerals agreement.
When addressing the dictator comment during a joint press conference with visiting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, Trump stated, “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that.”
Trump also shared his eagerness to meet Zelenskyy and commended the bravery of the Ukrainian military.
“We are putting in substantial effort to conclude that war. I believe we’ve made significant strides, and progress is being made rather swiftly,” Trump noted. “It’ll either happen relatively soon, or it won’t occur at all.”
Furthermore, Trump indicated that he anticipates Zelenskyy will need to offer concessions to Russia as part of an ultimate agreement to end hostilities between the two nations.
When asked about possible concessions from Ukraine, Trump responded: “I don’t want to disclose that right now, but I can say this: NATO is off the table. I think that’s likely the underlying reason for the entire situation.”
Moscow has historically perceived Ukraine’s accession to NATO as an intolerable threat.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
