WASHINGTON: United States and Ukraine have finalized an agreement allowing access to the European nation’s rare earth minerals and various natural resources, announced former President Donald Trump.
Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Trump confirmed earlier reports that he had reached an agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to develop his country’s natural resources.
“I hear that he is coming on Friday. Certainly, it’s OK with me if he would like to. And he would like to sign it together with me, and I understand that’s a big deal, a very big deal,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office.
Trump said the deal could be worth $1 trillion and will ensure that American taxpayers “get their money back, plus”.
“We’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars on Russia and Ukraine fighting a war that should have never, ever happened.”
Asked what Kyiv would get in return, Trump cited aid worth $350bn that he has claimed has already been provided and “military equipment and the right to fight on”.
The US Congress appropriated $174bn for Ukraine between 2022 and 2024, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Trump’s remarks followed media reports that the US and Ukraine had reached an agreement after Zelenskyy previously rejected an earlier draft that would have signed away the rights to $500bn worth of natural resources.
The breakthrough comes as Ukraine is hoping to repair relations with the Trump administration amid tensions over his decision to exclude Kyiv from negotiations with Moscow to end the war.
Trump’s outreach to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his verbal attacks on Zelenskyy have raised concern in Kyiv and European capitals that he is inclined towards bringing a swift end to the conflict on terms that favour Moscow.
Trump last week branded Zelenskyy a “dictator” over his decision to suspend elections following Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion and accused the Ukrainian leader of shirking efforts to make peace so he can continue the “gravy train” of US aid.
According to the sources, Ukrainian officials believe Zelenskyy’s cabinet will on Wednesday recommend that he sign the deal with Trump.
