Ukrainian President Zelenskiy Says He May Go To Washington For Resources Deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he’s received an invitation to meet with Donald Trump in Washington after negotiators secured a draft agreement giving the US control over half of the war-battered country’s natural resources.

The deal isn’t finalized, the Ukrainian leader told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday, saying that he needed time to study the text and consult with European allies. But he indicated that the draft is acceptable, since it wouldn’t condemn Ukraine to being a “debtor” nation and some of the Trump team’s initial demands have been dropped.

“This deal may have a big success — or pass quietly,” Zelenskiy said, adding that a trip to Washington was still up in the air. “The big success will depend on President Donald Trump.”

A Trump-Zelenskiy meeting could assuage the US president, who lashed out at the Ukrainian leader this month, branding him a “dictator,” as he rushed ahead with a plan to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to lock in a ceasefire. Zelenskiy had made clear that he wanted a meeting with Trump before a US-Russian summit took place.

Trump earlier signaled that Zelenskiy may arrive on Friday. “Certainly it’s okay with me, if you’d like to, and he would like to sign it together with me,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office Tuesday. “And I understand that’s a big deal.”

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said an agreement was “close to the finish line.”

Zelenskiy’s team had initially rejected a draft agreement handing 50% of revenues from future resource extraction — including minerals, oil, gas as well as infrastructure tied to the resources, because it didn’t provide security guarantees.

The current text, seen by Bloomberg, still doesn’t entail such guarantees, but a “durable partnership” via economic ties. The US dropped an initial demand for Kyiv to commit to paying $500 billion from resource extraction as a form of compensation for US aid, one person said.

Zelenskiy said he would meet European leaders in London after a possible meeting with Trump. He also said more negotiations are required to establish the details of a joint fund, as specified in the text, and reinforced his demand for an agreement on security guarantees.

“A ceasefire without security guarantees won’t work,” Zelenskiy said. “The only way is to end the war so it won’t resume tomorrow.”

US officials have said that binding Ukraine to the US through economic ties would provided a de facto security shield, with a detailed agreement to be worked out later. The proposal was first presented by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Kyiv earlier this month.

The agreement is at the heart of a diplomatic push by Trump to fulfill his pledge for a rapid end to the conflict. NATO allies have been stunned by Trump’s overtures to Moscow and sudden lurch away from Kyiv, including the US president sparring with Zelenskiy as he adopted the Kremlin’s demand that Ukraine hold a wartime election. Holding a ballot is banned under Ukraine’s martial law.

But Trump’s focus on mineral resources has raised questions. Despite reports of $10 trillion worth of mineral deposits, Ukraine has no major rare-earth reserves that are internationally recognized as economically viable. Most deposits are likely by-products of producing materials like phosphates. Some are in areas of Russian occupation.

The deal may offer Trump a way to encourage buy-in from his supporters for continued backing for Ukraine, particularly if Washington needs Congress to approve additional aid for Ukraine if negotiations with Russia continue to drag on. Ukraine still relies on US and European allies for weapons and ammunition. Trump said on Tuesday the deal would give Kyiv “the right to fight on.”