Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to ink a critical minerals agreement on Friday. Kyiv is currently working to get back U.S. support to combat the Russian invasion.
The Biden administration provided Zelenskiy with billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. weaponry and moral support. However, Trump’s stance is markedly different. According to the Republican president, his objectives include speeding the conclusion of the three-year war, enhancing bilateral relations with Moscow, and recovering the funds that the U.S. has allocated to Ukraine’s aid.
The U.S. has been an essential ally to Europe’s security since WWII, but Trump has taken a considerably less committed stance toward this issue.
There are concerns that Kyiv may be pushed into a peace deal that benefits Russia as a result of the shift in stance from the U.S., which has shocked Europe.
U.S. security guarantees are missing from the minerals deal that was recently negotiated, which is a letdown for Ukraine given that it would allow the U.S. access to its vast mineral wealth.
Ukraine anticipates that the agreement will inspire Trump to support Kyiv’s efforts to reclaim territory that Russia. The agreement may also gain the backing of Republicans in Congress for an additional cycle of aid.
As part of the deal that Trump and Zelenskiy are set to ink on Friday, the Ukrainian government will put half of “all revenues earned from the future monetization of all relevant Ukrainian government-owned natural resource assets” into a joint U.S.-Ukrainian reconstruction fund.
The assets in question are not specifically mentioned in the agreement, but they are understood to include minerals, oil, natural gas, and other extractable material deposits, along with infrastructure like ports and LNG terminals.
