WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday said he expects Ukraine to sign a mineral resources deal with the United States this week as part of efforts to end the war with Russia.
Washington’s demands for around $500 billion (€477 billion) in mineral wealth from Ukraine was initially rejected by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the grounds that the US had not offered any security guarantees.
Trump administration officials are trying to clinch what they claim is an economic partnership with Kyiv as part of their broader diplomatic push to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
“I expect to see a deal signed this week. You saw President (Volodymyr) Zelensky waver in his commitment towards that a week ago. The president sent a message to him, he’s not wavering anymore,” Witkoff told CNN.
Zelensky “realises that we have done so much, and that that agreement belongs being signed.”
“Any peace deal, each side is going to make concessions,” Witkoff added.
“That’s what the president does best — he brings people together. He gets them to understand that the pathway to peace is concessions and consensus building.
“And I think you’re going to see a very successful result here. We’ve been struggling with this conflict for three and a half years.”
Trump demands $500 billion in mineral wealth from Ukraine
The US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals was first presented to Zelenskyy by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier in February.
The speaker of the Ukrainian parliament has said the government will start working in earnest from Monday to reach an agreement with the Trump administration for US access to mineral resources.
Speaking to Japanese broadcaster NHK World, Ruslan Stefanchuk said a special team would start working on the proposal beginning next week but that any agreement must include security assurances from Washington.
Washington is asking for a 50% cut of all revenues generated from Ukraine’s mineral and natural resources in what US officials are calling payment for previous military support.
On Friday, Trump said that Washington and Kyiv were close to reaching a deal.
“I think we’re pretty close, yeah. I think they want it. They feel good about it. 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,” he said.
But those comments stood in stark contrast to Zelenskyy’s previous remarks on Wednesday when he said “I can’t sell Ukraine” and refused to sign the deal.
Washington’s demand for around $500 billion (€477 billion) in mineral wealth from Ukraine was rejected by Zelenskyy on the grounds that the US had provided nowhere near that sum in military or financial aid and hadn’t offered any specific security guarantees.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in an op-ed for the Financial Times, defended Trump’s push for an agreement with Ukraine to develop its natural resources and critical minerals, saying the plan would fuel post-war growth in the country and did not involve any coercive economic pressure.
Since 2022, the US has provided Ukraine with around $67 billion (€64 billion) worth of weaponry.
“But it’s we get our money back. This should have been signed long before we went in. It should have been signed by Biden. But Biden didn’t know too much about what he was doing,” Trump told reporters on Friday.
What are rare earth minerals?
Rare earth elements are a set of 17 elements that are essential to many kinds of consumer technology, including mobile phones, hard drives and electric and hybrid vehicles.
Ukraine’s rare earth elements are largely untapped because of the war and because of state policies regulating the mineral industry.
The country also lacks good information to guide the development of rare earth mining.
Geological data is thin because mineral reserves are scattered across Ukraine, and existing studies are considered largely inadequate and the industry’s true potential is clouded by insufficient research.
The country’s reserves of titanium, a key component for the aerospace, medical and automotive industries, are believed to be among Europe’s largest.
Ukraine also holds some of Europe’s largest known reserves of lithium, which is required to produce batteries, ceramics and glass.
In 2021, the Ukrainian mineral industry accounted for 6.1% of the country’s gross domestic product and 30% of exports.
The European Commission identified Ukraine as a potential supplier of more than 20 critical raw materials and said that if the country joins the EU, it could strengthen the European economy.
