According to three senior Ukrainian officials, Kiev and Washington have reached a broad economic agreement that includes the extraction of Ukraine's rare earth minerals. US President Donald Trump said Volodymyr Zelensky could visit the US on Friday to sign the deal.
One of those officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Kiev hopes the deal will improve its relations with Washington and secure the long-term U.S. support Ukraine urgently needs.
They added that plans were being made for Ukrainian President Zelensky to travel to Washington to meet with US President Trump.
Responding to reporters' questions about a possible visit by Ukrainian officials, Trump said: "I heard that. I heard he was coming on Friday. I'm sure I don't mind if he wants to, and he'd be happy to sign with me."
Last week, Trump called the Ukrainian leader a "dictator" and warned Zelensky that he should reach a peace deal as soon as possible or "he will have no country left".
The US had previously put forward a deal that would have given it access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals in exchange for Washington's support, but Zelensky rejected it because it did not offer sufficient security guarantees.
"It's important that we discuss formats for security guarantees for Ukraine, especially from Europe, and undoubtedly we need the United States as well." Zelensky said at a forum of government officials in Kiev on Sunday.
Although the new agreement also reportedly lacks explicit security guarantees, Ukrainian officials have claimed that it offers more favourable terms than the previous one. One of the officials claimed that the two leaders would discuss the security guarantees when they meet.
In an interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday Olha Stefanishynova, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, said that "The mineral deal is only part of the picture. We have heard several times from the US administration that it is part of a bigger picture".
euronews/ gnews.cz - RoZ
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