Ukraine and the United States have reached a framework economic agreement that will include U.S. access to rare earth minerals in Ukraine, three senior Kiev officials said Tuesday.
The officials, who were familiar with the matter, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. One of the officials said Kiev hopes the deal will secure continued U.S. military support that Ukraine urgently needs. There was no immediate response from the Trump administration to a request for comment.
The deal could be signed as early as Friday as plans are being made for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to travel to Washington for a meeting with President Trump, according to one of the Ukrainian officials.
Another official said the agreement would provide an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss continued military aid to Ukraine, stressing the need for Kiev to finalize the deal. Some technical details are still being worked out, one official said.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, President Trump said he had heard that Mr. Zelenskyy would visit Washington. He added that “I’m fine with him if he wants to sign a deal.”
President Trump called it a “major deal,” adding that it could be worth a trillion dollars. It could be general, but it involves rare earth minerals and other things, he said.
However, the framework does not include a controversial proposal by President Trump’s administration to give the United States $500 billion worth of rare earth minerals from Ukraine as compensation for helping Kiev fight the war.
Instead, the United States and Ukraine would jointly own a fund to which Ukraine would contribute 50 percent of future revenues from state resources, including minerals, oil and gas, according to officials.
However, the agreement does not include security guarantees. An official said the two presidents would discuss the issue when they meet.
The progress in negotiating the deal comes after President Trump and his counterpart Zelenskyy traded sharp rhetoric last week over their differences on the issue.
President Zelenskyy said he rejected signing a deal brokered by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during his visit to Kiev earlier this month. He said he had opposed signing it days later during a meeting in Munich with U.S. Vice President JD Vance because the U.S. proposal did not include security guarantees.
President Trump then called Mr. Zelensky “a dictator without an election” and claimed that his support among voters had plummeted.
But the two sides made significant progress during a three-day visit to Ukraine last week by retired General Keith Kellogg, President Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
The idea was first proposed last fall by President Zelenskyy as part of his plan to empower Kiev in upcoming negotiations with Moscow.
