Ukraine and USA close to concluding raw materials agreement

"This agreement is part of our larger agreements with the United States. It could be part of future security guarantees," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday. It is important to him that the agreement does not make Ukraine a debtor to the United States. "Because that would be unfair."

US President Donald Trump confirmed at the first cabinet meeting since taking office that Zelenskyy would visit Washington on Friday. They will sign an agreement on rare earths and other things, Trump said.

According to Trump, Russian head of state Vladimir Putin will have to make concessions in a Ukraine agreement. Putin actually did not want a negotiated solution, Trump said at his first cabinet meeting. Trump previously said that the USA would not provide any security guarantees as part of such an agreement. Europe would do that.

"It is too early to talk about money, because this is a framework agreement," said Zelenskyj in Kiev, according to the news agency Interfax-Ukraine. A real contract will follow later. "This will be more difficult and more serious, because the next contract is about the fund," he explained.

The agreement is considered central to Ukrainian efforts to secure continued US support in its fight against the Russian war of aggression. Trump is striving for a quick end to the war. To this end, US-Russian talks are to be continued in Istanbul on Thursday, from which Ukraine and Europe have so far been excluded.

Trump himself presents the agreement with Ukraine as a kind of repayment of the billions in US aid. Zelenskyj has demanded security guarantees in return for the raw material rights. It is unclear whether the USA will grant these.

Zelensky also rejected a ceasefire without security guarantees for his country, which is being attacked by Russia. "We must all understand that there will be no ceasefire if Ukraine does not have security guarantees," he said at a press conference in Kiev. The war will only end when there is certainty that it "will not start again tomorrow," said Zelensky. He will also say this at a planned meeting with Trump.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the government in Washington would commit itself in the final agreement to supporting Kyiv's efforts to provide security guarantees. However, the US has not yet made any security commitments of its own. Trump sees the Europeans as having a duty here. But they argue that security guarantees after the end of the war without US backing would not be enough to prevent another Russian attack on Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said talks with US representatives on Thursday would focus on resolving bilateral disputes. These were part of a broader dialogue that both sides saw as crucial to ending the war in Ukraine. Trump told reporters on Tuesday that Zelensky wanted to come to Washington on Friday to sign a "very big deal." Shmyhal stressed, however, that Ukraine would not sign the agreement until the Ukrainian and US presidents had agreed on security guarantees.

A copy of a draft agreement dated February 25, obtained by Reuters, states: "The government of the United States of America supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain the security guarantees necessary for a lasting peace." In the agreement, the Ukrainian government will commit to handing over 50 percent of all proceeds from relevant state-owned raw material deposits. This will primarily involve rare earths. The money will then flow into a fund under joint control of the USA and Ukraine. No decision on the administration of the fund can be made without the consent of the Ukrainian government. Existing deposits, facilities, licenses and leases will not be an issue when setting up this fund.

Russia declined to comment on the raw materials agreement. The Russian government has taken note of reports, including a visit by Zelensky to Washington, said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the presidential office in Moscow. "We will see whether it will be the agreement mentioned or something else. There are no official statements on this matter yet," Peskov said. "The Americans need rare earth metals, we have plenty of them," he added.