Trump declines to assure Ukraine’s security following the signing of a minerals agreement
US President Donald Trump confirmed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the White House to sign a major minerals deal but refused to guarantee Ukraine’s security.
Ahead of Zelensky’s meeting with Trump set for Friday, the US president said: ‘I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond – very much.
‘We’re going to have Europe do that.’
The deal will see Ukraine hand over billions of its mineral wealth and other resources to the US.
Zelensky told CNN that the proposed deal is a ‘framework’ but added that it does not have ‘concrete steps on security guarantees’ because they need to be agreed upon with the US and Europe.
Meanwhile, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, clearly sided with Russia amid peace negotiations that last week excluded Zelensky.
‘I honestly can’t imagine that anyone in their right mind would be picking Ukraine as an ally when Russia is the other option,’ Trump Jr said in his Triggered podcast.
‘The US should have been sending weapons to Russia.’
President Donald Trump over the weekend said he is ‘trying to get money back’ that the US gave to Ukraine (Picture: Reuters)
Zelensky hopes that the minerals deal will help his country gain security and Trump’s support. He expressed a desire to talk about the relationship with the US in the in-person meeting with Trump.
‘This deal could be a great success or it could pass quietly,’ Zelensky said on Wednesday.
‘And the big success depends on our conversation with President Trump.’
Under the agreement, Ukraine and the US would jointly create a Reconstruction Investment Fund. Ukraine would contribute 50% of all revenues from natural resource assets like rare earth minerals, natural gas and oil and hydrocarbons.
President Donald Trump said he is not going to make security guarantees for Ukraine (Picture: Reuters)
Over the weekend, Trump stated that he is ‘trying to get the money back’ that the Biden administration sent to Ukraine to help fight Russia’s invasion and war.
Zelensky said in a news conference in Kyiv that Ukraine pay back the money as part of the minerals deal.
‘I will not accept (even) 10 cents of debt repayment in this deal,’ he said. ‘Otherwise, it will be a precedent.’
The meeting will come after sparring last week, in which Trump called Zelensky a ‘dictator’ and Ukraine’s leader shot back that Trump is ‘living in a disinformation space’ created by Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended a news conference in Kyiv on Wednesday (Picture: EPA)
Ukraine controls more than 100 major deposits of rare minerals on top of oil and natural gas reserves, some of the largest in Europe, a pre-war assessment by the Kyiv School of Economics found.
Trump’s reversal on America’s policies toward Ukraine have raised concerns that China could advance its territorial claim on Taiwan.
Trump has also declined to comment on whether the US will not allow China to take Taiwan by force. He also said he has a great relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
World Affairs Correspondent
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