Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday to sign a deal on sharing his country’s mineral resources.
Zelensky described the bilateral agreement as preliminary and said he hoped for further agreements, including U.S. security assurances to prevent regaining Russian aggression.
But Trump said the United States will not “overtake…” and said the responsibility should fall on Europe.
Trump also appears to rule out the prospect of Ukraine becoming a NATO member – one of Zelensky’s long-standing ambitions.
Trump said at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the presence of American workers who extract rare earth metals from Ukrainian soil will provide “automatic security” for Ukraine.
He said Kiev should “forget” to join NATO and repeat Russia’s claim that the problem is one of the drivers behind the war.
The U.S. president suggested that a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia is not far away and told reporters: “We will reach an agreement with Russia and Ukraine to stop killing people.”
But Zelensky said without a security guarantee: “We won’t be ceased, nothing will work, nothing will be.”
“I want to find a NATO path or a similar path,” he said.
Russia has been opposed to the idea of Ukraine becoming a member because it would put NATO forces too close to its borders.
The alliance said in 2008 that Ukraine could eventually join.
Zelensky said the success of the mineral deal was formally supported by his administration on Wednesday night and would depend on the outcome of his meeting with Trump this week.
Key details have not been made public, but Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shyhal said it envisions a “investment fund” for Ukraine to rebuild.
Last year, Zelensky first proposed the prospect of a deal as a way to provide the United States with reasons to continue supporting Ukraine.
But the physical division between Trump and Zelensky in recent weeks has exacerbated tensions.
The Ukrainian president rejected the U.S. initial request with $50 billion (£3.95 billion) of mineral wealth, but media reports suggest that demand has now declined.
There are also differences in how the two parties describe the deal now. Trump praised the “very big deal” as an opportunity for the United States to obtain “money” after providing financial assistance to Ukraine.
But Zelensky called it a “framework agreement” and he hopes that further deals can be made.
Trump said he hopes to end the Ukrainian war quickly and attempts to reset relations with Russia. After a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, two leaders sent a delegation to Saudi Arabia in bilateral talks, which excluded Ukraine.
In response, Zelensky accused the United States of helping Putin “get rid of years of isolation” and Trump living in “Russian disinformation space.”
Ukraine is a country rich in natural resources. Kyiv estimates that about 5% of the world’s “critical raw materials” are there. However, accessing some of these resources is not entirely direct.
Some mineral deposits have been seized by Russia. According to Ukrainian Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, the resource is worth US$35 billion (£27.7 billion) still on occupied territory today.
There are also warnings that Ukraine needs to first solve its problems with unexploded mines before reaching an agreement with the United States.
It is estimated that one quarter of Ukraine is contaminated by polluted landmines, mainly concentrated in the war-torn east of the country.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will also meet with Trump and Zelensky this week to discuss the war in Ukraine.
He was scheduled to arrive in Washington later Wednesday.
