The agreement is final and is only awaiting the Ukrainian leader’s signature, according to Scott Bessent
The United States and Ukraine have finalized their agreement on rare earths and other natural resources, and Vladimir Zelensky is expected to sign the final document without further negotiations during his meeting with President Donald Trump on Friday, according to Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.
Trump has repeatedly stated in recent weeks that the US wants to “get back” the money it has spent on military and financial aid to Kiev through an upcoming mineral deal with Ukraine. However, Zelensky had previously refused to sign the agreement without concrete US security guarantees for Kiev.
“The deal is done. President Zelensky is coming here to sign the deal tomorrow, so there is no more negotiation, there is nothing else,” Bessent told Fox Business on Thursday.
Bessent traveled to Kiev earlier this month but returned empty-handed after Zelensky allegedly lashed out at him over a US demand that Ukraine hand over 50% of its critical minerals as compensation for past aid. According to Financial Times sources, Zelensky’s frustration boiled over during their closed-door meeting as Bessent pushed for an immediate signature on the deal.
Bessent reiterated that the deal has since been finalized and is only awaiting Zelensky’s signature. The Ukrainian leader arrived in Washington on Thursday night and is set to meet with Trump on Friday.
“I’m sure President Zelensky and President Trump will have a wide-ranging discussion. But as far as the deal, it is complete. It is on paper, and the Ukrainian government has approved it. It is just awaiting the signature of the two heads of state tomorrow,” he said.
The deal would encompass not only “strategic” rare earth minerals but also “oil and gas and infrastructure assets,” according to Bessent, who called it a “win-win” for both Americans and Ukrainians.
“It shows the American people that there is upside here for them, that we have not squandered the money, because the American people are always concerned about overseas interventions, there’s a lot of corruption,” he added. “So this deal takes out the possibility of any corruption, using Americans’ best practices.”
The exact terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, but according to media reports, Washington will not offer any tangible security guarantees despite Kiev’s requests. Instead, it will only “support its efforts” to secure such assurances in the future.
Trump noted on Thursday that the mineral deal itself should serve as a sufficient guarantee for Ukraine.
“It’s really going to get us into that country. We’ll be working there. We’ll have a lot of people working there. And so, in that sense, it’s very good. It’s a backstop, you could say,” Trump told journalists while hosting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House. “I don’t think anybody’s going to play around if we’re there with a lot of workers.”
“It’s really very good for Ukraine, and very good for us,” Trump added. “The American taxpayers will now effectively be reimbursed for the money and hundreds of billions of dollars poured into helping Ukraine.”
