An agreement that would give the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals could be signed as early as Friday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky set to travel to Washington to meet President Donald Trump, according to one Ukrainian official on Tuesday.
Ukraine and the US have reached an agreement on a framework for a broad economic deal that would include access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, three senior Ukrainian officials said Tuesday.
The officials, who were familiar with the matter, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly. One of them said that Kyiv hopes that signing the agreement will ensure the continued flow of US military support that Ukraine so urgently needs.
The agreement could be signed as early as Friday and plans are being drawn up for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to travel to Washington to meet President Donald Trump, according to one of the Ukrainian officials.
Another official said the agreement would provide an opportunity for Zelensky and Trump to discuss continued military aid to Ukraine, which is why Kyiv is eager to finalise the deal.
Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said he’d 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.” (France24)