US, Ukraine agree to terms of critical minerals deal
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
WASHINGTON: (Reuters) The US and Ukraine have agreed on the terms of a draft minerals deal central to Kyiv's push to win Washington's support as President Donald Trump seeks to rapidly end the war with Russia.

A source familiar with the contents of the draft agreement said that it does not specify any U.S. security guarantees or continued flow of weapons but says that the United States wants Ukraine to be “free, sovereign and secure.”

One of the sources familiar with the deal said future weapons shipments are still being discussed between Washington and Kyiv.

Trump told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wants to come to Washington on Friday to sign a "very big deal." This came after the two leaders exchanged hostile words last week.

The U.S. president, who has cast the deal as a repayment for billions of dollars in aid to Kyiv, also said some form of peacekeeping troops are needed in Ukraine if an agreement to end the conflict is struck.

Some European countries have said they would be willing to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine. Trump said on Monday that Moscow would accept such peacekeepers, but the Kremlin denied that on Tuesday.

Trump last week falsely called Zelenskiy an unpopular "dictator" who needed to cut a quick peace deal or lose his country. The Ukrainian leader said the U.S. president was living in a "disinformation bubble."

MONEY BACK FOR "THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER"

The deal could open up Ukraine s vast mineral wealth to the U.S.

"What we re doing is now we re saying, look, we want to be secured," Trump said. "The American taxpayer now is going to get their money back, plus."

Zelenskiy refused to sign an earlier draft of a minerals agreement as Washington sought rights to $500 billion in Ukraine s natural wealth. Kyiv protested it had received far less than that in U.S. aid and the deal lacked the security guarantees Ukraine needs.

Under the terms of a draft minerals agreement, according to sources familiar with its contents, the United States and Ukraine would establish a Reconstruction Investment Fund to collect and reinvest revenues from Ukrainian sources including minerals, hydrocarbons and other extractable materials.

Ukraine would contribute to the fund 50% of the revenue minus operating expenses and continue until the contributions reach the sum of $500 billion. The United States would provide a long-term financial commitment to the development of a “stable and economically prosperous Ukraine.”

EUROPEAN ALLIES SCRAMBLE

European officials have been left flat-footed by Trump s decisions to hold talks on ending the war in Ukraine with Russia, spurning both Kyiv and Europe, and by his administration s warning that the U.S. was no longer primarily focused on Europe s security.

A White House meeting could give Zelenskiy a chance to make his case for continued U.S. support directly to Trump, who last week falsely accused Kyiv of starting the war.

Ukraine s reserves of graphite, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and nuclear reactors, represent 20% of global resources.