Trump And Zelenskyy To Sign Rare Earth Minerals Agreement, Form Investment Fund: Report

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met President Trump at the White House on Friday, where the two leaders are expected to sign an agreement regarding U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. According to New York Post, President Zelensky arrived at the White House for his meeting with President Trump.

As the talks began, Zelensky urged Donald Trump that during peace talks "there should be no compromises with a killer on our territory", in an apparent reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but President Trump made it amply clear that "Ukraine will have to make compromises in a truce with Russia."

Before the meeting began, President Zelensky had said that "I think President Trump is on our side". He also told the US President that the US protecting Ukraine from Russian threats was "absolutely crucial" for peacekeepers.

Donald Trump said that "a truce with Russia is fairly close" and that the deal allowing US access to Ukraine's natural resources is "very fair".

With raised voices, President Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Friday in a remarkably fractious White House meeting, accusing Zelensky of not being grateful enough for U.S. support and trying to strong-arm him into making a peace deal with Russia, New York reported.

“You’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position,” Trump says, again suggesting Russia’s invasion is Ukraine’s fault. Vance demands to know whether Zelensky has said “thank you” once, noting that Zelensky campaigned in Pennsylvania for Kamala Harris.

On Wednesday Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine and the US had finalised a version of the agreement. It was published on Friday morning. BBC reported that the preliminary agreement envisages that an "investment fund" will be set up for Ukraine's reconstruction. Shmyhal said Kyiv and Washington would manage the fund on "equal terms".

"An important visit to the United States. In Washington, I met with a bipartisan delegation from the U.S. Senate. Our discussions focused on the continued military assistance for Ukraine, relevant legislative initiatives, my meeting with President Trump, efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace, our vision for ending the war, and the importance of robust security guarantees.

We take pride in having strategic partners and friends like the United States. We are grateful for the unwavering bicameral and bipartisan support for Ukraine throughout all three years of Russia’s full-scale aggression," Zelenskyy wrote on X.

Earlier this week, Trump announced that the U.S. had reached a deal with Zelenskyy on a broad framework for sharing Ukraine's mineral resources, and that the Ukrainian president was coming to Washington to sign it together. Negotiations on the minerals continued despite recent public tensions between the two leaders. According to CBS, Kyiv hopes that the agreement will help secure ongoing security support for Ukraine. Trump mentioned on Thursday that the deal would help reimburse American taxpayers for their support of Ukraine over the past three years.

Trump previously said he saw the deal as compensation for the U.S.′ aid to Ukraine throughout the war with Russia, and had claimed the deal was worth $500 billion, a CNBC report said.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Zelenskyy wrote, "Peace and security guarantees are the key to ensuring that Russia can no longer destroy the lives of other nations." He added, "For me and for all of us in the world, it's important that U.S. support is not stopped. Strength is needed on the path to peace."

Trump had blamed Ukraine for the war started by Russia and referred to Zelenskyy as a “dictator,” while refraining from labeling Russian President Vladimir Putin in the same way.

Trump spoke with Putin earlier this month and said the Russian leader wants an end to the war. Last week, the president said he trusts Russia to negotiate in good faith, as top Trump administration officials met with Russian negotiators in Saudi Arabia without a Ukrainian representative. The president on Thursday said he believes Putin would comply with any peace agreement reached.

"I don't believe he's going to violate his word," Trump said.

Trump last week called Zelenskyy a "dictator," referring to the fact that the Ukrainian leader's five-year term expired last year, and no new election has been held. Ukraine has been under martial law since soon after the war started in 2022, and the country's constitution bans elections during martial law. On Monday, during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump was asked whether he views Putin as a dictator, since he called Zelenskyy one.

"I don't use those words lightly, I think that we're going to see how it all works out," he replied. "Let's see what happens."