Trump 'announced' Zelenskyy's visit to US to sign minerals deal

On February 25, the US President told reporters that Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Friday to sign a minerals deal on Ukraine's rare earth minerals.

Western media cite Trump's statement that the US and Ukraine agreement is nearly agreed upon.

"We have almost agreed on our rare earth deal," he added.

According to Trump, it was a big deal and could potentially be a trillion-dollar deal, involving rare earth metals and other resources.

"The American taxpayer now is going to get their money back, plus," stated the US president referring to the funds the US provided to Ukraine.

Trump reveals what Ukraine will receive under deal

When asked what Ukraine would receive from the US in the rare earth minerals deal, Trump said it would include $350 billion (the amount he claims the US has already provided to Ukraine), along with a lot of military equipment and the right to continue fighting.

The US president mentioned that Ukraine and ukrainian soldiers are very brave, but without the US, its money, and equipment, this war would have ended very quickly.

Trump also recalled that he was the one who approved the supply of Javelins to Ukraine.

Agreement approval in question

Two sources close to the Ukrainian government told Axios the deal was agreed on Tuesday after two weeks of tense negotiations.

The deal is designed to allow the US to tap some of Ukraine's immense mineral wealth and spur post-war development.

One source said Zelenskyy managed to negotiate a final draft that didn't include a key US demand that it would have rights to $500 billion in future revenue. The Financial Times first reported the US concession.

The draft agreement stated that the US wants to keep Ukraine "free, sovereign, and secure" but didn't mention specific security guarantees.

Meanwhile, two Western sources said the Ukrainian cabinet will convene as soon as Wednesday to approve the deal before Zelenskyy travels to Washington later in the week.

US-Ukraine deal

The US proposed a rare earth metals deal with Ukraine, which included creating a $500 billion fund where Washington would hold economic and managerial rights. Donald Trump viewed this as a way to "compensate" for American aid. However, Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that US support amounted to $100 billion and should not be considered debt.

Previously, US officials claimed that Ukraine and the US were set to sign the resource deal last week.

However, according to Sky News, Zelenskyy is not yet ready to sign a mineral deal with the US due to "problematic issues."