Donald Trump seems to have won his trade difference with VolodyMyr Zensky, because the Ukrainian president has been set to admit and sign a deal that gives the US access to deposits of critical minerals.
The deal was seen as crucial for satisfying Washington's demands for a peace scheme between Ukraine and Russia to end their three -year war.
Zensky said on Friday that officials from his country and the US worked to close an economic deal to ensure that the agreement worked and was honest for Kiev.
“We sign an agreement, hopefully in the next fairly short period,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when he was asked for a deal for the minerals of Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal later mentioned several people who are familiar with the issue that the deal is close by and will be signed within a few hours.
On Wednesday, Zensky rejected the question of part of his rare earth minerals – critical of the production of mobile phones and a large number of clean technologies.
That led to a brutal word war between the two leaders, but it is said that an improved offer has been made to KYIV.
Trump has said famous that the war in Russia – Boekraine would never have begun if he had been president and claimed that he could bring the conflict abruptly – without ever revealing his plans for this.
Donald Trump seems to have won his trading star with VolodyMyr Zensky, because the Ukrainian president has been set to admit and sign a deal that gives the US access to deposits of critical minerals
Zensky said on Friday that officials from his country and the US worked to conclude an economic deal to ensure that the agreement worked and was honest for Kiev for Kiev
The president has been clear that Ukraine must reward the US for the help offered to support the war effort so far. The US president said that the figure is $ 300 billion.
The prospect of extracting the natural resources of Ukraine, has been part of the Trump government plan from the start.
Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a narrow ally of the US president, started a trip to Kyiv last fall shortly before Zensky revealed a victory plan and suggested that the mineral reserves of Ukraine could be for sale.
Graham and other legislators at the time published a statement in which they positioned Ukraine as a potential economic partner of the US who could reduce the dependence on America of China for rare earth minerals.
Last week, the American Finance Minister Scott Bessent KYIV offered a deal as part of continuous negotiations to guarantee the long-term safety of Ukraine in the case of a ceasefire agreement with Russia.
According to a private design of the proposal that is seen by De Telegraaf, this would have the US taken 50% of Ukraine's income by the extraction of natural resources.
It would also grant the US 50% of the financial value of 'all new licenses issued to third parties' for the future income of these resources.
Bessent said that such a 'economic dedication' Ukraine would grant a 'long -term safety shield' that was provided by Washington – an idea that Zensky first introduced as part of his 'victory plan' for Western allies and the parliament of Ukraine in October.
At that time, the Ukrainian president said that Ukraine could sign an agreement with the US, the EU and other unnamed allies who would make joint investments and use of the natural resources of Ukraine possible.
But when the deal, which was presented by Bessent last week, Zelensky and his assistants discovered that no concrete security guarantees were described in the document.
Instead, it seemed more related to people as an exploiting contract imposed on conquered opponents, not a mutual affordable agreement between allies.
It came shortly after Trump suggested that Kyiv could compensate the US for help sent in the past three years with 'worth $ 500 billion' of critical minerals.
Ukraine has trillions of dollars of natural resources, including many rare earth minerals that are vital for the production of modern technology – although many are found in the industrial core countries in the east, currently occupied by Russia.
Mining analysts and economists say that Ukraine currently has no commercial operational rare earth mines.
Many companies delayed or stopped the activities at the start of the war, and restarting the industry into a war torn out by war will be a huge challenge for all companies that want to take the risk.
Zensky refused to sign the deal as was offered last week and reported reporters during the weekend: “It was not in our interests today … Not in the interest of sovereign Ukraine.”
Trump and his supporters have simply criticized the scale of American military and financial support for Kiev, and he has previously called Zensky's 'The Greatest Salesman on Earth'.
This hand -out photo taken and released by the Ukrainian state problems On February 21, 2025, firefighters who work on a fire on an industrial facility after a Russian strike in the Poltava region, in the midst of Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Senior government sources told the Financial Times that the deal provided few details about what this 'long -term security shield' would look like.
'When we looked at the details, there was nothing [about future US security guarantees]”said one officer, while the other De Telegraaf told that a clause in the contract has” awarded a right of retention “.
In other words, the officer said, the contract meant 'paying us first and then feeding your children'.
Zelensky later told reporters on Monday that every economic treaty in the US-Ukraine should see the security guarantees 'recorded somehow', adding that his country was not just a “simple supplier of raw materials.”
'Ukraine is blessed with considerable lithium, titanium and other rare earth minerals needed by the American economy.
“Expansion of economic cooperation with Ukraine makes America stronger and speeds up the economic recovery of Ukraine,” said the explanation.
“An agreement with Ukraine in this area would make the US less dependent on foreign opponents for rare earth minerals.”
Earlier this month, Zensky also showed reporters the location of the mineral deposits of Ukraine, youNfurling A card on a table in the heavily defended president of the president in Kiev.
About half of them seemed to be on the Russian side of the current front lines, but large amounts of vital agents were found in Central Ukraine.
“When we are talking about a deal, let's leave a deal, we are for it alone,” Zensky said two weeks ago, with the emphasis on Ukraine's need for security guarantees of his allies as part of a scheme.
But the contract offered by Bessent was ruthless and tried to exploit the enormous means of Ukraine for little.
According to the private design that was seen by De Telegraaf, the contract not only relates to mineral resources, but also the 'economic value related to … oil and gas sources, ports, other infrastructure (as agreed)', by which It is unclear what else could be surrounded.
“This agreement is governed by the law of New York, without taking into account the principles of the conflict of laws,” said it, saying that “for all future licenses the US will have the right to have the first refusal for the Purchase of exportable minerals'.
An analysis of the conditions of the contract by the Telegraph concluded that if the conditions of the draft 7 February 2025 were accepted by Ukraine, Trump's requirements would amount to a higher part of the Ukrainian GDP than repayments imposed on Germany After the First World War.
