US, Ukraine Reach Agreement On Rare Earths Pact. Deal Could Be Signed This Week
The agreement could be signed by Friday, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is likely to travel to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump.
The United States and Ukraine have agreed on a broad economic deal that would include access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, as Kyiv's push to win Washington's support as President Donald Trump seeks to end the war with Russia.
According to the Associated Press (AP), Kyiv hopes that signing the agreement will ensure the continued flow of US military support that Ukraine urgently needs.
This agreement could be signed as early as Friday, and plans are being made for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to travel to Washington to meet Trump, a Ukrainian official, told AP. Another official said the agreement would provide an opportunity for Zelenskyy and Trump to discuss continued military aid to Ukraine, which is why Kyiv is eager to finalise the deal.
While speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump said that he had heard that Zelenskyy was coming and added that “it’s okay with me, if he’d like to, and he would like to sign it together with me.” Trump called it a big deal that could be worth a trillion dollars. “It could be whatever, but it’s rare earths and other things,” he was quoted by AP.
ALSO READ: All About US-Ukraine Talks On Rare Earths Deal: What’s At Stake?
Some details are yet to be worked out, according to AP, the draft does not include a contentious Trump administration proposal to give the US $500 billion worth of profits from Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as compensation for its wartime assistance to Kyiv. The US & Ukraine would jointly own a fund, with Ukraine committing to contribute 50 per cent of future proceeds from state-owned resources, including oil and gas.
The deal does not, however, include security guarantees. One official said that this would be something the two presidents would discuss when they meet. The progress in negotiating the deal follows a week of sharp exchanges between Trump and Zelenskyy over their differences on the issue.
Zelenskyy hesitated to approve a deal that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent promoted during his visit to Kyiv earlier this month. The Ukrainian leader reiterated his objections days later during a meeting in Munich with Vice President JD Vance, as the American proposal did not include security guarantees.
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