U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to sign a US-Ukraine mineral agreement during a meeting in Washington, on Friday.
Zelensky expressed great hopes rgarding the minerals agreement but stressed that any economic alliance needs U.S. security guarantees to prevent more Russian aggression.
Trump, however, has talked down the prospect of significant pledges, saying that Europe had to play a bigger part in Ukraine’s defence.
Trump said at a cabinet meeting Wednesday that having American labourers engaged in Ukraine’s rare earth metal extraction will provide Kyiv with “automatic security.” In keeping with Russia’s position that this issue was a major contributing element to the war, Putin also rejected Ukraine’s hopes to join NATO.
Trump hinted at a possible ceasefire when he told reporters, “We’re going to broker a deal between Russia and Ukraine to end the bloodshed.”
But in a forceful response, Zelensky said that “there will be no ceasefire, and nothing will work” in the absence of specific security assurances.
The accord, which Ukraine’s cabinet formally approved on Wednesday night, is still lacking in important details. According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, it contains a “investment fund” meant to aid in the country’s post-war reconstruction.
Tensions have arisen between the two leaders as a result of disagreements over the wording of Zelensky’s original proposal, which was made last year to promote sustained U.S. support for Ukraine.
Zelensky reportedly rejected Washington’s initial demand for access to Ukraine’s mineral riches, which were valued at $500 billion. According to media reports, the United States has reportedly withdrawn its request forwarding towards a US-Ukraine mineral agreement.
