UPDATE: Zelenskyy was kicked out of the White House and the deal was not signed.
***Original story***
President Donald Trump greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House Friday morning ahead of a high stakes meeting about the end of Russia's invasion and to sign a key critical mineral agreement with the United States.
President Donald J. Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House pic.twitter.com/14aa5Ix2HW
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 28, 2025
The deal was finish upon Zelenskyy's arrival in the U.S. Thursday and detailed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The deal is done. Tomorrow, the United States and Ukraine will sign a strategic economic partnership that will benefit both the American taxpayer and the Ukrainian people. pic.twitter.com/kdI5jvzA6L
— Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) February 28, 2025
More details from CSIS:
The bilateral agreement is markedly different from the original minerals deal proposed by the Trump administration. The initial deal called for Ukraine to use its mineral resources to repay the United States $500 billion for military aid previously provided. The agreed upon framework does not designate the rights of $500 billion worth of minerals revenues to the United States nor does it include a security guarantee for Ukraine. Rather, the agreement establishes a reconstruction investment fund with joint U.S. and Ukraine ownership. Ukraine will contribute 50 percent of all revenues earned from the future monetization of all Ukrainian government-owned natural resource assets into the fund. This includes minerals deposits, oil, natural gas, and other relevant infrastructure, but, notably, it does not include resources that are already serving as a revenue source to Ukraine, such as the operations of Naftogaz and Ukrnafta, Ukraine’s largest oil and gas producers. This means, the profitability of the fund is entirely dependent on the success of new investments in Ukraine’s resources.
While in Washington Zelenskyyy also made a visit to Capitol Hill for meetings with Republican and Democrat lawmakers.
An important visit to the United States. In Washington, I met with a bipartisan delegation from the U.S. Senate.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 28, 2025
Our discussions focused on the continued military assistance for Ukraine, relevant legislative initiatives, my meeting with President Trump, efforts to achieve a just… pic.twitter.com/KJcosUpygc
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