KYIV: President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the White House on Friday to sign a long-sought minerals deal that will closely tie the two countries together for years to come. Trump made the announcement at start of the first cabinet meeting of his second term, hailing the deal as “a very big agreement”.
Trump has framed the emerging deal that would give the US access to so-called rare earth deposits in Ukraine as a chance for Kyiv to pay back the US for aid already sent for the war effort under Democratic President Joe Biden. “The previous administration put us in a very bad position, but we’ve been able to make a deal where we’re going to get the money back and and a lot of money in the future,” Trump said.
Zelensky said a news conference early Wednesday in Kyiv that a framework of an economic deal had been reached, but that it did not yet include US security guarantees, which his country sees as vital. The full agreement could hinge on the upcoming talks in Washington. “The framework is a preliminary step toward a comprehensive package that will be subject to ratification by the Ukrainian parliament,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine needs to know first where the US stands on its continued military support, Zelensky said. “This (economic) agreement may be part of future security guarantees, but I want to understand the broader vision. What awaits Ukraine?” he said. “This deal could be a great success or it could pass quietly. And the big success depends on conversation with Trump.”
The latest version of the agreement, seen by AP, says the US “supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace.” But it doesn’t spell out any US commitment to provide them.
Trump has abruptly ditched some previous Washington policies, scrapping efforts to isolate Russian President Putin. On Wednesday, the US abstained from a statement by members of the World Trade Organisation condemning Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, a diplomatic source and a Geneva trade official said.
