US President Donald Trump says Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Friday to sign a critical minerals deal.
Trump made the announcement this morning at the start of his first cabinet meeting.
Earlier overnight, Zelenskyy revealed that the framework of an economic deal with the US was ready, but it did not yet offer US security guarantees that Kyiv views as vital for its war against the Russian invasion.
The full agreement could hinge on the Washington talks on Friday, Zelenskyy said during a news conference in Kyiv.
The agreed-upon framework is a preliminary step toward a comprehensive package that will be subject to ratification by the Ukrainian parliament, Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine needs to know first where the US stands on its continued military support, Zelenskyy said. He said he expects to have a wide-ranging conversation with Trump during a visit to Washington.
The economic agreement “may be part of future security guarantees, but I want to understand the broader vision. What awaits Ukraine?” Zelensky said.
Since returning to office last month, Trump let Ukraine know that he wanted something in return for tens of billions of dollars in US help fending off the Russian forces that launched a full-scale invasion just over three years ago on February 24, 2022. The White House has applied heavy pressure on Kyiv to grant American access to its vast reserves of minerals that are used in the aerospace, defence and nuclear industries.
Zelenskyy balked at initial US offers, arguing they did not contain adequate security assurances for Ukraine and that the proposed price tag of $US500 billion ($790 billion) would saddle generations of Ukrainians with debt. But Kyiv is also keen to use the investments as a way of locking the US into Ukraine’s fate.
The latest version of the agreement, seen by The Associated Press, says that the US “supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace” but does not spell out any US commitment to provide them.
“Participants will seek to identify any necessary steps to protect mutual investments as defined in the … agreement,” it says.
After Zelenskyy spoke, a White House official made clear again on Wednesday that accepting the agreement was a precondition of Trump’s invitation to meet on Friday with the Ukrainian leader. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the invitation.
“This agreement may either be a great success or quietly fade away,” Zelenskyy said. “And I believe success depends on our conversation with President Trump.”
“I want to coordinate with the US,” Zelenskyy said.
Trump has abruptly ditched some previous Washington policies. He scrapped efforts to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin and cast doubt on US support for its European allies. That has brought momentous geopolitical shifts that could reset the war’s path this year.
Diplomats from Russia and the US will meet on Thursday in Istanbul to discuss the operation of their respective embassies in Moscow and Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
Zelenskyy said he wants to discuss with Trump whether the US plans to halt military aid and, if so, whether Ukraine would be able to purchase weapons directly from the US.
He also wants to know whether Ukraine can use frozen Russian assets for the purchase of weapons and investments and whether Washington plans to lift sanctions on Russia.
The preliminary economic agreement also sets out the terms and conditions of an investment fund for the rebuilding of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
