US President Donald Trump said he “heard that” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to visit Washington on Friday, Feb. 28, to sign a resources deal.
Zelensky later said the visit had not been confirmed at a Wednesday press conference in Kyiv.
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During Tuesday’s Oval Office press conference, Trump said that Washington and Kyiv have “pretty much negotiated” the deal on “rare earth” among other things, and that Zelensky is set to come to Washington to sign it.
“I hear that he’s coming on Friday. Certainly, it’s ok with me if he’d like to [come] and he’d like to sign [the resources deal] together. I understand that’s a big deal, very big,” Trump said.
The upcoming US-Ukraine deal on rare earth metals could be worth $1 trillion — Trump
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) February 26, 2025
Key statements from his latest speech:
▪️Confirmed Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington on Friday.
▪️Ukraine would receive $350 billion, military equipment, and the right to keep fighting under the… pic.twitter.com/Et5D04lTbO
The visit follows an agreement between officials from the US and Ukraine on the terms of a draft mining deal between the two countries.
Earlier, AFP reported that Ukraine had finalized the terms of the agreement with the US on developing its mineral resources – including oil and gas – after Washington dropped demands for the right to $500 billion in potential revenue through Ukraine’s resources and that it could be signed as early as Feb. 28.
The Ukrainian official, cited by the publication, said that the text lacks the explicit security guarantees that Kyiv had sought but added, “There is a general clause stating that America will invest in a stable, prosperous, and sovereign Ukraine, work toward lasting peace, and support efforts to guarantee security.”
Zelensky Unsure if Friday’s Washington Visit Goes Ahead
According to some evaluations, the original terms of the deal were reportedly highly exploitative – even worse than had been imposed on Germany at the end of World War I.
Trump had previously suggested the original deal to be a way for Ukraine to repay the US for the military and financial aid it received after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, even though the US had provided the aid to Ukraine in the form of grants and loans.
Trump had previously asked for “$500 billion worth” of rare earth minerals to compensate for aid given to Kyiv – a price tag Ukraine had balked at as the amount is far greater than what Kyiv had received from the US.
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