It is "critical" that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sign a deal to share critical mineral and other natural resource revenues with the US, the White House said Tuesday amid ongoing negotiations.
Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters that President Donald Trump "expects President Zelenskyy to sign a deal," saying it would serve to pay the US back for past military and economic assistance provided to Kyiv by the Biden administration.
"It's also great for the Ukrainian people who have been put through hell because of this war, and it will create a lasting economic partnership, as Ukraine will need to rebuild their country because of this brutal war," she said.
Trump said Monday he expects to meet Zelenskyy at the White House as soon as this week to sign the agreement.
"The agreement's being worked on now. They're very close to a final deal. It'll be a deal with rare earths and various other things. And he would like to come, as I understand it, here to sign it. And that would be great with me. I think they'd then have to get it approved by the council or whoever might approve it, but I'm sure that will happen," he said.
Ukraine has so far declined to sign the agreement as negotiations continue over major sticking points, including security guarantees for Ukraine and whether the mineral rights would be exchanged solely for future US military aid, or whether it would cover previous installments that were given to Kyiv by the Biden administration.
Ukraine is sitting on massive reserves of critical rare earth minerals that could total trillions of dollars. It holds about 5% of the world's total mineral resources, according to a 2024 World Economic Forum report.
Besides having one of the largest confirmed reserves of lithium, Ukraine boasts semiconductor-grade neon gas that is critical for chip production, beryllium, uranium, zirconium, apatite, iron ore and manganese.
US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who has rejected Ukraine's entry into NATO due to the alliance's mutual defense article, maintained that the US would defend any economic investment it makes in Ukraine's mineral resources.
"This could mean trillions, not only for the Ukrainian people, but for us and for stability for the region. And that economic investment is one of the best security guarantees that Ukraine could hope for," he said during a Monday morning interview with Fox News.
