Zelenskyy no longer hesitates on mineral resources agreement, expects it to be signed next week - Witkoff
US President Donald Trump's special envoy expects an agreement with Ukraine on Ukrainian minerals and rare earth metals to be signed next week.
He said this on CNN, Censor.NET reports.
The American official said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hesitated on the deal last week, but now he "no longer hesitates."
"I think there is a reason why he is not hesitating. It's because he realizes that we've done a lot, and this deal has to be signed. And I think you'll see it signed next week," Witkoff said.
He also said that the U.S. is providing funding to Ukraine "without any repayment arrangements," while the Europeans "funded a smaller portion of the aid" and had agreements to repay it.
The US minerals deal
As a reminder, Trump has said he wants to sign a $500 billion deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on access to rare earth resources and natural gas in Ukraine in exchange for security guarantees in any potential peace settlement.
President Zelenskyy said that the agreement with the US on minerals would be signed at the ministerial level when ready and subject to guarantees. Currently, this document is not ready to protect Ukraine's interest.
Later, Trump said that Ukraine had derailed the rare earth metals deal. The agreement was needed so that the United States could recover the money spent on supporting Ukraine.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has handed over to Ukraine an "improved" draft of the minerals agreement that "complies with Ukrainian law."
