Trump says Zelensky to visit White House Friday to sign minerals deal
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Bucket-wheel excavators mine rare earth materials on Feb. 25, 2025 in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine. Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images
President Trump told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the White House on Friday to sign a minerals deal.
- Two sources close to the Ukrainian government told Axios the deal was agreed on Tuesday after two weeks of tense negotiations.
Why it matters: The deal is designed to allow the U.S. to tap some of Ukraine's immense mineral wealth and to spur post-war development in the country. But the meeting will bring together two leaders who were publicly feuding just last week, with Trump calling Zelensky a "dictator" and Zelensky claiming Trump was swallowing Russian disinformation.
The latest: Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday that the minerals deal with the U.S. is a framework agreement that will be followed with a detailed agreement about the joint U.S.-Ukrainian fund to be established for the potential revenue from the minerals.
- He said the agreement doesn't mention anything about Ukraine repaying any debt to the US.
- Zelensky added that the deal will be signed at a ministerial level and the details of his possible trip to Washington on Friday are still being worked out.
Zoom in: Trump has argued the minerals deal will yield billions of dollars in revenue for the U.S. and help to recoup costs related to U.S. support of Ukraine in the war.
- One source said Zelensky managed to negotiate a final draft that didn't include a key U.S. demand that it would have rights to $500 billion in future revenue. The Financial Times first reported the U.S. concession.
- The draft agreement stated that the U.S. wants to keep Ukraine "free, sovereign and secure" but didn't mention specific security guarantees.
- The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Friction point: The minerals agreement comes at a point when the U.S.-Ukraine relationship seemed to be crumbling.
- Zelensky objected to the Trump administration opening talks with Moscow about the future of the conflict without involving Ukraine, and taking key points of leverage for Ukraine off the table — such as the possibility of NATO membership — without seeming to put similar pressure on Russia.
- Trump, for his part, was furious that Zelensky rejected an initial version of the minerals deal. He falsely claimed Ukraine had initiated the war and launched repeated personal attacks against Zelensky.
Behind the scenes: Ukrainian and U.S. officials said U.S. envoy Gen. Keith Kellogg played a key role in containing the crisis over the minerals deal and preventing it from turning into a deeper rift between Trump and Zelensky.
- "General Kellogg's meetings with Zelensky in Kyiv last Wednesday and Thursday were extremely important. Patient, persistent diplomacy can yield results," a U.S. official involved in the talks said.
State of play: The two sources said the Ukrainian cabinet will convene as soon as Wednesday to approve the deal, before Zelensky travels to Washington later in the week.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details.
