Speaking to pool reporters during a Trump Cabinet meeting at the White House Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed the United States is ready to sign a rare earths mineral deal with Ukraine immediately.
.@SecScottBessent on the minerals deal with Ukraine: "Our side is ready to sign. The Ukrainians decided last night to make some last-minute changes. We're sure that they will reconsider that and we are ready to sign this afternoon if they are." pic.twitter.com/U4Pp0i0Dzn
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 30, 2025
The deal on the table is the same one, with the same terms, that was supposed to be signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February. A 40-mimute meeting in the Oval Office with President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and others went south in the last 10 minutes, causing Zelenskyy to get kicked out of the building.
As Townhall reported at the time:
President Trump has kicked Zelenskyy out of the White House. A planned press conference and a lunch have been cancelled. Zelenskyy left the campus early. The critical minerals deal Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was a "done deal" on Thursday, was not signed as planned.
“We had a very meaningful meeting in the White House today. Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation under such fire and pressure. It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations," Trump released in a statement on Truth Social after the Oval Office meeting. "I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace."
Zelenskyy has not left Washington D.C. and still has an option to return to the negotiating table before returning to Ukraine.
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President Trump has always viewed the mineral deal with Ukraine as a pathway to peace with Russia and a proper payback for U.S. aid to the country during the war.
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