An agreement that would give the US access to Ukraine's mineral deposits as payback for military support is expected to be signed this week, President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday.
Mr Witkoff said Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had initially rejected the US proposal, had now relented and the deal would be signed this week.
“You saw President Zelenskyy waver in his commitment towards that a week ago. The President sent a message to him, he's not wavering any more,” Mr Witkoff said in an interview on CNN.
“I think there's a reason he's not wavering, it's because he realises that we have done so much and that agreement should be signed, and I think you'll see it signed this week.”
On Wednesday, Mr Zelenskyy rejected a proposal for $500 billion in mineral wealth from Ukraine to repay Washington for military aid saying the US had supplied far less and the agreement did not come with enough security guarantees. But on Friday, Mr Zelenskyy's office said the Ukrainian President's Chief of Staff, Andriy Yermak, had discussed “aligning positions” in a call with the White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.
US officials say Ukraine has untapped rare earth and mineral deposits, and that the US could invest in its extraction. Mr Trump has said the scheme would enable the US to recoup American aid for Ukraine, arguing taxpayers deserve to be paid back.
“This agreement is about repayment for all that we've done on behalf of the Ukrainian people, and that's the way the President sees it,” Mr Witkoff said. He added that Europe had contributed a “minority share” of aid to Ukraine.
The agreement comes after Washington and Moscow held talks in Saudi Arabia last week aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The talks excluded Ukraine and Europe, in a stark reversal of US foreign policy since Russia invaded its neighbour nearly three years ago. Mr Witkoff said the talks were “positive, constructive, and clearly momentum-building”.
Mr Trump campaigned on a promise to bring a swift end to the war in Ukraine, and cut US military aid. He says the US grossly overspent on Ukraine under former president Joe Biden's administration, compared to European allies who could be more affected by the war, given their geographic proximity to it.
When asked if Mr Trump's pressure on Mr Zelenskyy would lead to territorial losses for Ukraine, Mr Witkoff said he expects both sides to make concessions. “In any peace deal, each side is going to make concessions, whether it's territorial concessions, whether it's economic concessions,” he said.
“I think there's a whole array of things that happen in a deal, and you'll see concessions from both sides, and that's what the President does best. He brings people together.”
