Exclusive: The full text of the US-Ukraine mineral deal
by The Kyiv Independent February 26, 2025 3:25 PMThe Kyiv Independent has obtained from a source in the Ukrainian government the full text of the mineral deal agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine and is publishing the text in full.
Kyiv and Washington agreed on a deal on Feb. 25. The negotiations around the deal have fueled tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky in the past week.
The U.S. has reportedly put forth three proposals, of which the first two have been turned down by the Ukrainian side for not including security agreements, even as Washington ramped up the pressure.
Initially it was reported that Zelensky could sign the agreement during a trip to Washington this week, but on Feb. 26, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio poured cold water on the idea, stressing the terms of the agreement had not been finalized and work on it is ongoing.
Speaking to journalists on Feb. 26, Zelensky said the agreement was "well appreciated by our government officials," though he added it does not yet contain specific security guarantees for Ukraine.
"The important thing is that the agreement mentions 'partners,' and this fund is Ukrainian-American, not American," he added.
This first document will be followed by a Fund Agreement, which will further define the terms of the Reconstruction Investment Fund, created by the U.S. and Ukraine. That document will require ratification by Ukraine’s parliament.
The full text is as follows:
BILATERAL AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR A RECONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT FUND
WHEREAS the United States of America has provided significant financial and material support to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022;
WHEREAS the American people desire to invest alongside Ukraine in a free, sovereign and secure Ukraine;
WHEREAS the United States of America and Ukraine desire a lasting peace in Ukraine and a durable partnership between their two peoples and governments;
WHEREAS the United States of America and Ukraine recognize the contribution that Ukraine has made to strengthening international peace and security by voluntarily abandoning the world's third largest arsenal of nuclear weapons;
WHEREAS the United States of America and Ukraine wish to ensure that those States and other persons that have acted adversely to Ukraine in the conflict do not benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine following a lasting peace;
NOW, THEREFORE, the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Ukraine (each, a “Participant”) hereby enter into this Bilateral Agreement Establishing Terms and Conditions for a Reconstruction Investment Fund to deepen the partnership between the United States of America and Ukraine, as set forth herein.
1. The Governments of Ukraine and the United States of America, with the aim of achieving lasting peace in Ukraine, intend to establish a Reconstruction Investment Fund (Fund), partnering in the Fund through joint ownership, to be further defined in the Fund Agreement. Joint ownership will take into consideration the actual contributions of the Participants as defined in Sections 3 and 4. The Fund will be jointly managed by representatives of the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the United States of America. More detailed terms pertaining to the Fund’s governance and operation will be set forth in a subsequent agreement (the Fund Agreement) to be negotiated promptly after the conclusion of this Bilateral Agreement. The maximum percentage of ownership of the Fund’s equity and financial interests to be held by the Government of the United States of America and the decision-making authority of the representatives of the Government of the United States of America will be to the extent permissible under applicable United States laws.
Neither Participant will sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any portion of its interest in the Fund without the prior written consent of the other Participant.
2. The Fund will collect and reinvest revenues contributed to the Fund, minus expenses incurred by the Fund, and will earn income from the future monetization of all relevant Ukrainian Government-owned natural resource assets (whether owned directly or indirectly by the Ukrainian Government), as defined in Section 3
3. The Government of Ukraine will contribute to the Fund 50 percent of all revenues earned from the future monetization of all relevant Ukrainian Government-owned natural resource assets (whether owned directly or indirectly by the Ukrainian Government), defined as deposits of minerals, hydrocarbons, oil, natural gas, and other extractable materials, and other infrastructure relevant to natural resource assets (such as liquified natural gas terminals and port infrastructure) as agreed by both Participants, as may be further described in the Fund Agreement. For the avoidance of doubt, such future sources of revenues do not include the current sources of revenues which are already part of the general budget revenues of Ukraine. Timeline, scope and sustainability of contributions will be further defined in the Fund Agreement.
The Fund, in its sole discretion, may credit or return to the Government of Ukraine actual expenses incurred by the newly developed projects from which the Fund receives revenues.
Contributions made to the Fund will be reinvested at least annually in Ukraine to promote the safety, security and prosperity of Ukraine, to be further defined in the Fund Agreement. The Fund Agreement will also provide for future distributions.
4. Subject to applicable United States law, the Government of the United States of America will maintain a long-term financial commitment to the development of a stable and economically prosperous Ukraine. Further contributions may be comprised of funds, financial instruments, and other tangible and intangible assets critical for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
5. The Fund's investment process will be designed so as to invest in projects in Ukraine and attract investments to increase the development, processing and monetization of all public and private Ukrainian assets including, but not limited to, deposits of minerals, hydrocarbons, oil, natural gas, and other extractable materials, infrastructure, ports, and state-owned enterprises as may be further described in the Fund Agreement. The Government of the United States of America and the Government of Ukraine intend that the investment process will lead to opportunities for distribution of additional funds and greater reinvestment, to ensure the sufficient supply of capital for the reconstruction of Ukraine as set out in the Fund Agreement.
The Participants reserve the right to take such action as necessary to protect and maximize the value of their economic interests in the Fund.
6. The Fund Agreement will include appropriate representations and warranties, including those necessary to ensure that any obligations the Government of Ukraine may have to third parties, or such obligations that it may undertake in the future, do not sell, convey, transfer pledge, or otherwise encumber the Government of Ukraine’s contributions to the Fund or the assets from which such contributions are derived, or the Fund’s disposition of funds.
In drafting the Fund Agreement, the Participants will strive to avoid conflicts with Ukraine’s obligations under its accession to the European Union or its obligations under arrangements with international financial institutions and other official creditors.
7. The Fund Agreement will provide, inter alia, an acknowledgment that both the Fund Agreement and the activities provided for therein are commercial in nature.
The Fund agreement shall be ratified by the Parliament of Ukraine according to the Law of Ukraine "On International Treaties of Ukraine."
8. The Fund Agreement will pay particular attention to the control mechanisms that make it impossible to weaken, violate or circumvent sanctions and other restrictive measures.
9. The text of the Fund Agreement will be developed without delay by working groups chaired by authorized representatives of the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the United States of America. Contact persons responsible for preparing the Fund Agreement on the basis of this Bilateral Agreement are: from the Government of the United States of America: the Department of the Treasury; from the Government of Ukraine: Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economy.
10. This Bilateral Agreement and the Fund Agreement will constitute integral elements of the architecture of bilateral and multilateral agreements, as well as concrete steps to establish lasting peace, and to strengthen economic security resilience and reflect the objectives set forth in the preamble to this Bilateral Agreement.
The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace. Participants will seek to identify any necessary steps to protect mutual investments, as defined in the Fund Agreement.
11. This Bilateral Agreement is binding and will be implemented by each Participant according to its domestic procedures. The Government of the United States of America and the Government of Ukraine commit to proceed forthwith to negotiate the Fund Agreement.
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The U.S. and Ukraine have finalized a natural resources deal. Here are its key terms.
On Tuesday, news broke that Ukraine and the United States had finalized a framework agreement on natural resources. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the reports, saying that the deal would grant Ukraine “military equipment and the right to fight on.” In turn, Ukrainian President Zelensky said on Wednesday that while the agreement does not include security guarantees in the form Kyiv had hoped for, they are mentioned in the text. According to the finalized text of the framework agreement published by European Pravda, Zelensky managed to secure the inclusion of two key provisions. First, revenues from the extraction and sale of mineral resources will be directed toward Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction — not toward recouping the cost of U.S. aid to Ukraine, which Trump has claimed Kyiv owes Washington. Second, while the agreement does not directly provide U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, it does include a reference to them. Meduza shares a summary of the new pact.
Key points of the agreement:
- The U.S. and Ukrainian governments will establish a Joint Reconstruction Investment Fund, which they will co-own and co-manage. The Ukrainian government will contribute 50 percent of all future revenues from the sale of state-owned mineral resources, as well as from the operation of related infrastructure (such as LNG terminals and ports), to the fund. Existing revenue sources already accounted for in Ukraine’s budget will not be included in this agreement.
- The U.S. will have the option to contribute additional funds and other assets deemed “critical for the reconstruction of Ukraine.”
- The fund’s revenues will be invested at least once a year into projects aimed at promoting Ukraine’s “safety, security, and prosperity.” Priority will be given to state and private projects focused on developing mineral resources, as well as LNG terminals and ports.
Details regarding the ownership structures, management, and operations of the Joint Reconstruction Investment Fund, along with implementation timelines, will be outlined in a separate agreement to be developed by representatives of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Ukraine’s Economic and Finance Ministries. This agreement will require ratification by Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, and will also specify provisions on dividends — the revenues that both Ukraine and the U.S. may receive from the fund.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that the framework agreement makes no mention of Ukraine’s debt to the U.S. for previously supplied military aid. One of Zelensky’s key objections to earlier versions of the agreement was their proposal to use Ukraine’s natural resources not for investment in its reconstruction but to pay the U.S. $500 billion, which Trump claimed Kyiv owed as compensation for wartime aid.
Another of Zelensky’s concerns was the absence of reliable security guarantees for Ukraine in earlier drafts of the agreement. The current framework states: “The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace. Participants will seek to identify any necessary steps to protect mutual investments, as defined in the Fund Agreement.”
The framework agreement leaves many details unresolved, which are expected to be addressed in a subsequent treaty that U.S. and Ukrainian officials will begin preparing immediately. President Zelensky is reportedly set to travel to Washington on Friday, February 28, to continue negotiations and sign documents.
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No security guarantees in US minerals deal, to be discussed later, Zelensky says
by
Tim Zadorozhnyy
February 26, 2025 8:03 PM
Security guarantees Kyiv is seeking are not specified in a mineral deal agreement with Washington, but will be discussed in future rounds of negotiations with the U.S. and other allies, President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists on Feb. 26.
The deal, finalized on Feb. 25, follows weeks of negotiations that strained relations between Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington initially proposed three versions, with Kyiv rejecting the first two over the absence of security guarantees.
The latest version of the agreement, which was obtained by the Kyiv Independent, aims to create a fund to which Ukraine will contribute 50% of proceeds from the "future monetization" of state-owned mineral resources, including oil, gas, and logistics infrastructure.
While it does not contain concrete security guarantees, the agreement states that the U.S. government "supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace."
"I asked for an understanding that all this is part of the future security guarantees of Ukraine," Zelensky said of the deal, adding that he wanted "at least a sentence about security guarantees for Ukraine to appear in the agreement — and it did appear."
Trump also on Feb. 26 said that Europe, rather than the U.S., would be mainly responsible for providing security guarantees to Ukraine.
"I'm not going to make security guarantees beyond very much — we're going to have Europe do that because we're talking about Europe is their next door neighbor," he said during a cabinet meeting at the White House.
Trump added that the U.S. would ensure "everything goes well" and, as anticipated, would collaborate with Ukraine on rare earth minerals.
"We very much need rare earth — they have great rare earth," he said.
It's unclear whether Trump's reference to Ukraine's "rare earth" was meant to indicate the country's critical minerals or other resources, as Ukraine possesses only small deposits of rare earths.
Earlier versions of the deal reportedly included a controversial clause requiring Ukraine to repay U.S. aid at a two-to-one ratio, meaning for every dollar received, Kyiv would have to return two.
"From what I was told, the 'two-to-one' provision is not there, and thank God," Zelensky told reporters at the meeting.
The president also emphasized that Ukraine would not assume debt under the agreement. "Despite what is being said in the media, the agreement does not include any $500 billion debt, $350 billion, or $100 billion. Because that would be unfair to us," he said.
The latest draft of the agreement drops earlier U.S. demands for a $500 billion claim over Ukraine's natural resources, which had been a major sticking point.
This agreement will be followed by a more detailed Fund Agreement, which will define the terms of the Reconstruction Investment Fund, jointly managed by Ukraine and the U.S. The Fund Agreement will require ratification by Ukraine's parliament.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that Zelensky will arrive in Washington on Feb. 28 to sign the mineral agreement.
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https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/02/26/what-we-know-about-the-us-ukraine-minerals-deal-a88177
What We Know About the U.S.-Ukraine Minerals Deal
Kyiv and Washington have agreed on a deal to give the United States access to Ukrainian mineral resources following a spat between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
Here's what we know about the agreement that could be signed by Trump and Zelensky in Washington this week, which the Ukrainian president on Wednesday called just a "framework agreement" to be tightened up in future discussions.
Ukrainian and international media have published what they report is the full text of the agreement, which lacks any security guarantee for Ukraine.
A joint fund
Trump had demanded compensation for U.S. aid paid out under the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden in the three years since Russia invaded in February 2022.
The U.S. leader had sought $500 billion in compensation — around four times the amount that Washington has paid out to Ukraine, which currently stands at $120 billion, according to the Kiel Institute, a German economic research body.
Zelensky rejected this draft saying he would not sign off on an accord that "10 generations" of Ukrainians would be liable to pay off.
"The main thing for me was that we are not a debtor," Zelensky told journalists Wednesday.
The deal's wording, as published by The Financial Times, The Kyiv Independent and other media, does however indicate that the United States and Ukraine should develop mineral resources together with revenues diverted to a joint U.S.-Ukrainian fund.
The fund will earn from future monetization of all relevant Ukraine government-owned natural resource assets, the terms say.
Ukraine would contribute 50% of all revenues to a fund jointly managed by the two countries' governments, to be reinvested in projects in Ukraine at least once a year.
The terms leave unclear exactly what share of the fund the U.S. would own.
"It's too early to talk about money," Zelensky said Wednesday, with details to be thrashed out later.
Vague on security
Ukraine had been adamant that any deal must include long-term and robust security guarantees that would help deter Russia from ever attacking again.
Zelensky first floated the idea of exchanging access to Ukrainian natural resources for security commitments in October last year as part of his five-point Victory Plan.
Ukraine ultimately wants NATO membership. But that option — a red line for the Kremlin — has been shelved by Washington.
Ukraine has also advocated for foreign peacekeeping troops to be deployed in the event of a ceasefire. But the United States has rejected this option while European countries are divided on the issue.
According to the text published by media, the only clause on security puts the U.S. under no obligation. The deal also does not mention weapons.
It simply says that the U.S. "supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain the security assurances necessary to build a lasting peace."
Zelensky told journalists he had wanted "at least a phrase about security guarantees," adding: "This sentence appeared."
The text does say the U.S. wants a "sovereign and secure Ukraine" and will maintain a long-term commitment to a "stable and economically prosperous Ukraine."
What minerals?
The text of the agreement says it concerns natural resources including deposits of minerals, hydrocarbons and natural gas, but not ones that are currently sources of revenue for Ukraine.
Ukraine holds some 5% of the world's mineral resources, which Trump wants to secure, but not all of them are yet exploited — or easily exploitable — and some lie in territory occupied by Russia.
The country is a notable producer of manganese (the world's eighth largest producer, according to World Mining Data), titanium (11th) and graphite (14th), which is essential for electric batteries.
Ukraine has 20% of the world's estimated resources of graphite, according to France's Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM).
Ukraine has also said it "possesses one of the largest lithium deposits in Europe." The government added that the soft metal is not yet extracted.
Kyiv has said that "rare earth metals are known to exist in six deposits" and that an investment of $300 million would be needed to develop a deposit at Novopoltavske, which it claimed was one of the world's largest.
The site is however controlled by Russian forces and the Kremlin has ruled out ceding territories it has captured since 2022 or the Crimean peninsula annexed in 2014.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he supports U.S. investment in Russian-occupied regions.
The Shevchenko deposit of lithium, tantalum, niobium and beryllium lies less than 10 kilometers from the front line near Pokrovsk, where the Russian army is gaining ground against outgunned and outnumbered Ukrainian forces.
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Five Concerns Over US-Ukraine Minerals Deal
Ukrainian and US teams reportedly reached agreement on a critical minerals agreement, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected in Washington on February 28 to formalize the deal.
The idea has not gone down well in Ukraine and Zelenskyy faces serious political risks if he is seen as bowing to US demands without explaining how the deal benefits Ukrainians. Some have referred to it as the “Budapest Memorandum 2.0”, a reference to the failed US-UK-Russia commitment to keep Ukraine safe and independent.
The details are limited at the moment, but Ukraine has successfully resisted the administration’s attempts to secure $500bn in critical mineral deposits.
Political pressure and coercion
President Trump’s open threats that Ukraine will have problems if President Zelenskyy doesn’t sign the agreement not only contradicts the spirit of the strategic partnership but also undermines an already weakened international law.
The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties stipulates that treaties procured by the coercion, threat, or use of force shall be without any legal effect (Article 51-52).
The US also has commitments under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which the US among others, committed to “refrain from economic coercion, designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by Ukraine of the rights inherent in its sovereignty and thus to secure advantages of any kind” (Article 3).
Turning grants into loans
President Trump’s demand that profits from the agreement be used to reimburse US aid to Ukraine over the past three years is ungrounded.
Following the same logic, Ukraine might ask its partners to compensate it for the huge quantities of weapons disposed of under the 1992 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (5,300 tanks, 2,400 armored combat vehicles, and 477 combat aircraft), or the 2005 Ukraine-NATO agreement (15,000 tons of munitions, 400,000 small arms, and 1,000 man-portable air-defense missiles).
The demand might also contradict US law. Aid to Ukraine in the form of irrevocable grants is stipulated in five funding bills passed by bipartisan votes of Congress from 2022-2024.
Only the last Ukraine Appropriation Act in April 2024, provides for potentially forgivable loans ($9.4 bn of economic and budgetary support). The first half of this loan ($4.7bn) was forgiven by President Biden in November, so President Trump has power over the other half of these funds.
Moreover, the extraction of Ukrainian minerals by private companies will not return taxpayers’ money to the US budget. And Ukraine-US deal could set a dangerous precedent of converting grants into loans post factum, even though the EU stated on February 24 that it will not demand any of Ukraine’s natural resources in exchange for aid provided. It has though suggested its own, notably generous critical minerals agreement to Ukraine.
Value of the deal — disproportionate figures
President Trump is demanding the repayment of a much higher amount ($500 bn) than the amount of aid actually provided ($175 bn).
Importantly, only part of this money has been spent and delivered to Ukraine; mainly humanitarian and economic aid amounting to about $43bn. Military aid funds ($66bn) remain in the US and are invested in US military production.
Half of this sum goes to US companies to replenish weapons sent to Ukraine from existing stocks under the PDA program (about $34 bn). The other half goes to US companies to produce weapons for Ukraine under the USAI program (about $33bn). Because of bureaucratic hurdles and long lead times, Ukraine has so far received only a small portion of the weapons under this program.
Finally, a big share of “Ukraine funds” (about $60bn) is not earmarked for Ukraine, but for strengthening US military capabilities and US military presence in Europe, aid to Europe and Asia, and other items.
Statements that Europe has allocated much less aid than the US are inaccurate. In 2022-2024, the EU has allocated $174bn in military ($52bn) and financial, humanitarian and refugee aid making up the rest.
The deal
The approach to the deal differs in Kyiv and Washington, with the first seeking security guarantees in exchange for critical minerals and the second perceiving an agreement from a purely economic perspective.
Under the deal, Ukraine would give 50% of the profits from the extraction of natural resources to an investment fund in which the US would have significant, but not 100%, control.
The first two versions of the agreement (as of February 7 and February 21) were openly described by some as “economic colonization of Ukraine”. But the final agreement is said to address some of Ukraine’s concerns: it appears not to commit Ukraine to providing a set amount of revenue to the investment fund; does not appear to relate to past aid to Ukraine. It also remains unclear whether Ukraine will still be obliged to repay a certain amount to the US if profits from critical mineral extraction are below expectations.
Dividing Ukrainians
There is an understanding in Ukraine that Zelenskyy has few choices when facing immense US pressure, but by signing the bad agreement Ukrainian president risks losing part of the public support that has returned in recent weeks following President Trump’s criticisms.
Economic cooperation with the US in general and investments in particular are seen by experts and decision-makers as positive for Ukraine. However, the main concern remains political and moral — that war-torn Ukraine might not receive security guarantees and will become an economic colony under the unfair deal.
This would cause frustration and division in Ukrainian society.
Under the Ukrainian constitution though, critical minerals belong to Ukrainian people, so the additional detailed deal on establishing an investment fund in Ukraine will have to be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament. This could put the issue of security guarantees back on the table.
The deal to be signed in Washington will be just a first step – a “framework agreement” meaning Ukraine and the US will have more time to settle potential disagreements when discussing.
In the end, US companies will be the first to ask President Trump about protecting their investments from Russian aggression. Ukraine has been arguing this for years – only strong bilateral security guarantees or NATO membership could be a reliable ground for Ukraine’s reconstruction, as they will secure European and American investments from future Russian aggression.
Marianna Fakhurdinova is a Non-resident Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and Associate Fellow at the New Europe Center (Kyiv).
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Trump vows again to ‘get our money back’ in ‘rare earth’ deal with Ukraine without offering ‘very much’ security guarantees
At his first formal cabinet meeting on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his refusal to offer security guarantees to Ukraine, argued that this burden will fall exclusively to Kyiv’s European allies, and praised a looming deal with the Zelensky administration to secure American mining rights to Ukraine’s “rare earth.”
Trump on ‘getting our money back’
[Ukraine] is very important to everybody, but Europe is very close. We have a big ocean separating us. So, it's very important for Europe, and they hopefully will step up and do maybe more than they're doing and maybe a lot more.
The previous administration put us in a very bad position, but we've been able to make a deal where we're going to get our money back, and we're going to get a lot of money in the future, and I think that's appropriate because we have taxpayers that shouldn't be footing the bill, and they shouldn't be footing the bill more than the Europeans are paying. So, it's all been worked out. We're happy about it.
Trump on a peace deal to stop the killing
We're going to make a deal with Russia and Ukraine to stop killing people. They'll stop killing young Russian soldiers and young Ukrainian soldiers and other people in addition in the towns and cities. And we will consider that a very important thing and a big accomplishment because it was going nowhere. Until this administration came in, they hadn't spoken to President Putin in two years.
Trump on security guarantees and ‘rare earth’
Well, I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We're going to have Europe do that because […] Europe is their next-door neighbor, but we're going to make sure everything goes well, and as you know, we'll be really partnering with Ukraine in terms of rare earth.
We very much need rare earth. They have great rare earth. […] I mean, this gives us… Because we don't have that much of it here. We have some, but we don't have that much, and we need a lot more to really propel us to the next level, to lead in every way. We're leading right now with AI, we're leading with everything right now, but we need resources.
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Kremlin Says It’s Waiting for Official Confirmation of U.S.-Ukraine Minerals Deal
The Kremlin said Wednesday that it was still waiting for official confirmation that the United States and Ukraine had agreed on the terms of a landmark minerals deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump had demanded Ukraine give access to its strategic minerals to compensate for the billions of dollars of military and other aid it received under former president Joe Biden.
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP late Tuesday that Kyiv had agreed on the framework of a deal, and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could sign it as soon as Friday.
"So far, there are no official statements on this matter. We have only heard that Zelensky seemed to be going to Washington on Friday," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"There will probably be attempts to make this visit somewhat substantive," he added.
Zelensky later on Wednesday said he hopes to visit Washington this week to meet Trump and discuss future U.S. support for Ukraine and a possible minerals deal.
"This is a start, this is a framework agreement," Zelensky told reporters. "This deal could be a great success or simply disappear. Whether it's a big success, I think, depends on our conversation with President Trump. We'll draw conclusions after."
Further discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian officials would determine the nature of security guarantees for Ukraine and the exact sums of money at stake in the agreement.
Officials in Kyiv hope that a minerals deal will improve relations with the Trump administration, which have soured amid a war of words between the U.S. president and Zelensky.
Ukraine also wants security guarantees, though the current draft of the deal does not place any specific security commitments on the United States, according to a senior Ukrainian official.
At the same time, Moscow has touted the possibility of U.S. investment in strategic minerals found in Russia and parts of Ukraine under the control of Russian troops.