PRESIDENT Donald Trump says the United States will not give Ukraine significant security guarantees as he confirmed that the country’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would visit Washington, DC to sign a critical minerals deal on Friday.
“I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much,” Trump said on Wednesday. “We’re going to have Europe do that.”
Zelenskyy had earlier said that a “preliminary” economic agreement between Ukraine and the US was ready but noted that the deal did not yet include any US security guarantees that Kyiv views as vital to ending the war with Russia.
A full agreement could hinge on the outcome of talks with Trump later this week in Washington, Zelenskyy told a news conference in Kyiv.
“This deal could be a great success or it could pass quietly. And the big success depends on our conversation with President Trump,” he said.
According to media reports, the agreement will grant the US access to critical minerals in Ukraine in compensation for US assistance in repelling Russia’s full-scale invasion that began in February 2022.
The White House has applied heavy pressure on Kyiv to allow the US access to its vast reserves of minerals that are used in the aerospace, defence and nuclear industries.
The deal is central to Ukrainian attempts to ensure strong support from Trump as he seeks a quick end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president told reporters in Kyiv that the framework economic deal with the US is a first step towards a full agreement that would be subject to ratification by Ukraine’s parliament.
