According to Scott Bessent, the agreement is finalized and awaiting only the Ukrainian president’s signature.
The rare earth and natural resource agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine is complete, with President Zelensky expected to sign it without further discussion during his meeting with President Trump on Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated.
President Trump has recently expressed his intention for the U.S. to recoup its financial and military aid to Ukraine through this upcoming mineral deal. However, Zelensky had previously conditioned his signature on receiving concrete security assurances from the U.S.
“The deal is done. President Zelensky is coming here to sign the deal tomorrow, so there is no more negotiation, there is nothing else,” Bessent told Fox Business on Thursday.
Earlier this month, Bessent’s trip to Kiev ended without an agreement after Zelensky reportedly reacted strongly to the U.S. demand for 50% of Ukraine’s critical minerals as compensation for prior aid. Sources from the Financial Times reported that Zelensky’s frustration grew during the closed-door meeting as Bessent urged him to sign the deal immediately.
On Thursday, Trump reiterated that the mineral deal itself should act as sufficient security for Ukraine.
“It’s really going to get us into that country. We’ll be working there. We’ll have a lot of people working there. And so, in that sense, it’s very good. It’s a backstop, you could say,” Trump told journalists while hosting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House. “I don’t think anybody’s going to play around if we’re there with a lot of workers, and having to do with rare earths and other things which we need for our country, and we appreciate it very much, and I look forward to seeing him.”
“`