Zelenskyy to Visit White House for Rare Earth Deal, Security Guarantees Uncertain
President Donald Trump has announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Friday to sign a rare earth minerals agreement. However, the U.S. will not provide significant security guarantees to Ukraine as part of the deal.
The agreement, which Trump claims will help the U.S. recover hundreds of billions of dollars spent on military aid to Ukraine, follows intense negotiations. Zelenskyy had pushed for U.S. security assurances against Russia’s ongoing invasion but received no firm commitments.
Details of the deal remain unclear, but it will reportedly establish a joint U.S.-Ukraine fund funded by revenues from rare earth mining and other valuable resources, including some oil and gas profits. Announcing the agreement during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump described it as a “very big agreement that will be on rare earth and other things.”
Zelenskyy had previously resisted signing a draft version at the Munich Security Conference, which would have given the U.S. full ownership of the fund. “I will not sign something that 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to pay back,” he stated on Sunday.
Negotiations have since continued, with Ukraine seeking stronger language on long-term U.S. support for its sovereignty. However, Trump downplayed the possibility of security guarantees, saying, “We’re going to have Europe do that.” He also dismissed Ukraine’s NATO aspirations, calling it a trigger for the war: “NATO—you can forget about that. I think that’s probably the reason the whole thing started.”
Reports indicate that the draft deal contains only vague security assurances. Zelenskyy described the agreement as “preliminary” and a starting point, emphasizing that if he visits Washington, he will press the U.S. on its commitment to Ukraine. “If we don’t get security guarantees, we won’t have a ceasefire, nothing will work,” he warned.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s opposition to European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, contradicting Trump’s recent claim that Vladimir Putin supports their presence. Lavrov stated that Russia had not been consulted on any deployment, dismissing the proposal as a ploy to arm Ukraine further and draw it closer to NATO.
European leaders will meet in London on Sunday to discuss defense strategies, including a proposal—backed by the UK and France—to deploy fewer than 30,000 European troops to Ukraine’s key infrastructure sites after a ceasefire, supported by Western air and naval power.
Russia remains resistant to these plans. Lavrov argued that such proposals would only escalate the conflict, while Moscow continues to push for a settlement that would limit Ukraine’s military, prohibit foreign weapons, enforce neutrality, and keep Russian influence over its political future.
Amid these tensions, U.S. and Russian diplomats will meet in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss improving diplomatic relations—the second such meeting in two weeks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that Washington and Moscow are working to restore their respective embassies, signaling a potential thaw in relations under Trump’s administration.
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Despite Moscow’s resistance to European peacekeeping forces—seen by Ukraine as a crucial alternative to NATO membership—Trump remains optimistic. When asked about Russia’s stance, he said, “Ultimately, we’ll be able to agree on something, I’m sure… Something will be done that’s satisfactory to everybody.”
However, sources suggest Putin remains firm on his conditions for peace, which include maintaining Russian control over annexed Ukrainian territories and ensuring Ukraine remains politically aligned with Moscow’s interests. Lavrov reinforced this stance, insisting that any remaining Ukrainian-controlled areas must also be “freed from racist laws,” echoing Kremlin narratives that Kyiv has repeatedly denied.
Ukraine has consistently rejected Russia’s claims of persecuting ethnic Russians and Russian speakers, labeling them as a pretext for the full-scale invasion launched in February 2022.
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