Trump Says Rare Earth Minerals Deal With Zelensky, Ukraine ‘Pretty Close’
President Donald Trump stated on Friday that his administration is "pretty close" to securing an agreement with Ukraine that would grant the U.S. access to the nation's natural resources in return for the billions of dollars in American support amid its war with Russia.
"You know, I think they want it, and they feel good about it," Trump remarked to reporters in the Oval Office following the swearing-in of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to Fox News. "And it’s significant. It’s a big deal. But they want it, and it keeps us in that country. And they’re very happy about it."
"We get our money back. They should have been signed long before we went in. They should have been signed by Biden. But Biden didn’t know too much about what he was doing. The war should have never happened, No. 1. When it did happen, it could have been settled," he added.
Trump continued: "The first week or two weeks after that, it got bad. It got really bad, but it should have been, it should have never happened. And it should have been settled, and it could have been settled very easily at the beginning. Now it’s tougher, but we’ll get it settled."
The New York Post reported Friday evening:
The Trump administration is nearing an agreement with Ukraine that would allow access to significant mineral resources, estimated to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. This move is seen as a major step toward resolving the ongoing conflict with Russia, coming just days before the third anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, The Post has learned.
Although the exact details of the deal remained unclear as of late Friday, sources indicated that the diplomatic approach taken by President Trump and his special envoy, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, helped bridge the gap between Washington and Kyiv.
Kellogg, one of the few officials in the Trump administration maintaining support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, departed for the U.S. after his visit without confirming a finalized deal. However, the White House has strongly advocated for the agreement, despite some top Ukrainian officials viewing it with skepticism.
“Any deal that can be made has to be mutually beneficial,” a representative from the Ukrainian president’s office told The Post.
Shortly afterward, Trump publicly declared at the White House that the U.S. and Ukraine were "signing an agreement, hopefully in the next fairly short period of time."
After a tense week of diplomatic exchanges between Washington and Kyiv, Kellogg’s visit to wounded Ukrainian soldiers at Irpin Military Hospital, northwest of Kyiv, played a key role in smoothing relations and advancing the negotiations, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Earlier in the day, Kellogg had further distinguished himself from other administration officials by offering public praise for Zelensky, The Post noted.
“A long and intense day with the senior leadership of Ukraine,” Kellogg posted on his personal X account after a series of meetings on Thursday. “Extensive and positive discussions with @ZelenskyyUa, the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war and his talented national security team.”
Kellogg was the last White House official expected to have an in-person meeting with the Ukrainian leader for the foreseeable future, following Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s unsuccessful attempt to secure a similar agreement—one that reportedly lacked security assurances for Ukraine.
“It sounds like there’s been some positive movement in the negotiations over the past couple days, and I expect the two sides will likely end up reaching a deal,” John Hardie, director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a statement to The Post.
“In principle, US-Ukraine cooperation on Ukraine’s natural resources, including its critical minerals, is a great idea. But any agreement should be mutually beneficial.”