Kyiv
CNN
—
The US and Ukraine have agreed to terms on a deal over natural resources and reconstruction, according to a Ukrainian official.
The source said the terms were agreed after “everything unacceptable was taken out of the text and it is now more clearly spelt out how this agreement will contribute to Ukraine’s security and peace.”
The US has not confirmed whether the terms of a deal have been agreed. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is now expected to travel to Washington in the coming days.
“I hear that he’s coming on Friday. Certainly it’s okay with me if he’d like to, and he would like to sign it together with me. And I understand that’s a big deal, very big deal,” US President Donald Trump said from the Oval Office on Tuesday.
The news comes after the same source told CNN on Monday that Ukraine was ready to agree to a deal that would grant the United States access to its rare earth minerals in return for US involvement in a reconstruction fund for Ukraine. The source said the Americans had resisted security guarantees being included in the draft.
The precise wording regarding Ukraine’s security in the latest draft was unclear.
CNN reported Monday, citing a Ukrainian source familiar with the negotiations, that some of the thornier details about the resources deal would be negotiated in subsequent talks, and that the US and Ukrainian presidents might discuss the security guarantees in person.
An earlier version of the deal, in which the Trump administration demanded a $500 billion share of Ukraine’s rare earths and other minerals in exchange for the aid the US had already provided Kyiv, was rejected by Zelensky.
A source told CNN at the weekend that Zelensky could not accept that version of the deal because it contained no American “obligations” while Ukraine was “expected to provide everything.”
Since then there have been signs the two leaders were edging closer to an agreement.
During a visit to the White House on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron commended Trump for his “decision to work with President Zelensky, and to conclude this agreement that’s so important for the US and Ukraine on rare earths, critical minerals.”
This is a developing story. More to come