Ukraine could sign a US-proposed deal for the rights to its mineral wealth as early as Friday in a major step towards a peace settlement, it has been revealed.
Officials in Kyiv said President Zelensky is planning on visiting the White House on Friday to finalise the agreement.
Meanwhile, President Trump also hinted that a deal was finally around the corner as he confirmed reports the Ukrainian leader would travel across the Atlantic this week.
Trump voiced his support once again for the rare minerals deal, noting that Ukraine needed to repay the United States for the billions it received in military aid under the Biden administration.
But Trump has reportedly dropped demands for £395billion in revenue from using Ukraine’s rare minerals.
The US President said Ukraine would get ‘the right to fit on’ if it signs the deal, but did not elaborate on what this would entail, and added: ‘Without the United States and its money and its military equipment, this war would have been over in a very short period of time.’
The deal reportedly involves no security guarantees by the US to Ukraine, which has been a key demand by the war-torn country so far.
It was revealed last night that Ukraine has agreed to sign the minerals agreement with Washington, despite rejecting the plans just days ago, with a Kyiv official telling the BBC that this is a ‘positive outcome’ and a ‘much better deal for Ukraine now’.
Senior officials told the Financial Times that Kyiv is ‘considering a visit to Washington for Friday to sign the agreement’.
Trump also said some form of peacekeeping troops are needed in Ukraine if an agreement to end the conflict is struck, but did not mention any US involvement in this peacekeeping force.
Moscow, which launched an invasion of Ukraine three years ago, has so far refused to accept any deployment of NATO forces.
This comes as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is off to Washington today to meet with Trump this week after offering UK troops as part of a potential peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
President Trump hinted that a deal was finally around corner as he confirmed reports the Ukrainian leader would travel across the Atlantic this week
Zelensky and Trump pictured during their meeting in the Trump Tower in New York in September
Another added that Ukraine is hoping the signing of the agreement will ensure the continued flow of US military support that Kyiv urgently needs.
The draft deal does not commit Ukraine to using the profits from its natural resources to repay the United States up to $500bn in wartime aid, which was a key demand of the Trump administration.
Rather, Kyiv will contribute 50 per cent of funds raised from the ‘future monetisation’ of state-owned mineral resources, according to a copy of the agreement seen by the Financial Times.
While the deal does not include explicit US security guarantees, Ukrainian officials see it as a good outcome and a step in the right direction.
‘The minerals agreement is only part of the picture,’ Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Olha Stefanishyna said.
‘We have heard multiple times from the US administration that it’s part of a bigger picture.’
Trump’s rush to impose an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine has stoked fears of far-reaching US concessions to Vladimir Putin.
Concerns have been raised that this could undermine security in Ukraine and Europe and alter the geopolitical landscape.
News of a deal comes after the US dropped controversial demands for a right to up to $500bn in potential revenue from Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
An aerial view of an ilmenite open pit mine in a canyon in the central region of Kirovohrad, Ukraine on February 12
Ukrainian firefighters work to extinguish a fire amidst the rubble of a building following Russian shelling in the city of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures during the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council Meeting on December 26
President Zelensky refused to sign this initial proposal last week – sparking a war of words between him and Donald Trump
The US president called Zelensky a ‘dictator’ and appeared to blame Ukraine for starting the war that entered its fourth year on Monday.
That accusation came just hours after Zelensky said the leader of the free world had fallen prey to a Russian disinformation campaign when Trump erroneously declared his Ukrainian counterpart was ‘down at four per cent approval rating’.
A Ukrainian agreement to an ‘economic commitment’ with the US was first floated by Zelensky himself as part of his ‘Victory Plan’ unveiled to western allies in October.
At that time, the Ukrainian President said Ukraine could sign an agreement with the US, EU and other unnamed allies that would allow for joint investments and use of Ukraine’s natural resources.
But according to a private draft of a US proposal seen by The Telegraph, the contract offered earlier this month would have seen the US take 50 per cent of revenues received by Ukraine from the extraction of natural resources.
It would have also granted the US 50 per cent of the financial value of ‘all new licenses issued to third parties’ for the future monetisation of these resources.
Volodymyr Zelensky attends a meeting with European leaders via video link in Kyiv, to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron leaves the White House after participating in a G7 leader summit call with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, US, February 24
World leaders and dignitaries are in Kyiv on Monday to commemorate the three-year anniversary of war
Such a deal would’ve been extremely difficult for Kyiv to stomach even if it had come with concrete and detailed promises of long-term security guarantees to be provided by Washington.
Furthermore it appeared Trump expected to receive ‘$500 billion’ worth of Ukrainian natural resources as repayment for military, financial and humanitarian aid provided to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
This figure appears to have been plucked from the ether, as the US’ own congressional reporting service shows the sum total of US aid for Ukraine thus far totals $174.2billion.
Zelensky later claimed that only around $75billion of this was military aid.
