US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington and Kyiv could on Wednesday sign a minerals deal — a key part of an American push to end Ukraine’s war with Russia — if “last-minute” issues are resolved.
“Our side is ready to sign. The Ukrainians decided last night to make some last-minute changes,” Bessent said during a White House cabinet meeting led by President Donald Trump.
“We’re sure that they will reconsider that, and we are ready to sign this afternoon if they are.”
The Trump administration has worked for several weeks with Kyiv to hash out a final pact that would give the United States access to Ukraine’s mineral and rare earth deposits.
Trump wants the deal as compensation for aid given to Ukraine by his predecessor Joe Biden, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“I said well, we want something for our efforts… And we said, rare earth. They have very good rare earth,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question about a potential agreement.
The president said the agreement would allow the United States to “start digging and doing what we have to do” in Ukraine.
“It’s also good for them because you’ll have an American presence at the site,” Trump added.
“The American presence will, I think, keep a lot of bad actors out of the country or certainly out of the area where we’re doing the digging.”
