Official: Trump says mineral deal will provide Kyiv with a'security shield after the war'

U.S. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent stated on Wednesday that an minerals deal between Kyiv-Washington would provide Ukraine with a "security shield" after the war. President Volodmyr Zelenskiy also said he hopes to reach a final agreement this week.

Bessent is the first cabinet level official from Donald Trump's delegation to visit Kyiv. He spoke after Zelenskiy, who said he would be willing to make a deal that would open Ukraine's minerals to U.S. investors, in a bid to win the U.S. President's support.

Trump, who wants to end the war quickly with Russia, but hasn't said whether he would continue to provide vital military assistance to Kyiv has said that he wants $500 Billion in rare earth minerals and that Washington needs to "secure" its support.

Zelenskiy said to reporters that after meeting Bessent, the U.S. had presented a draft agreement that Kyiv will study. He also expressed his hope that they would be able to seal an agreement at the Munich Security Conference, taking place from February 14-16.

"We had an productive and constructive conversation." "The issue of Ukraine's security is important to me and we discussed minerals in general," Zelenskiy said. He is scheduled to meet with U.S. vice president JD Vance at the Munich summit.

Bessent said to reporters that the deal on minerals was part of "a larger peace deal" that Trump had in mind, adding that his initial visit to Ukraine demonstrated that

The war

It was one of the top priorities for the Trump Administration.

Bessent stated that "by increasing our commitment to the economy through a partnership between the government and people in Ukraine, it will provide long-term security for all Ukrainians once this conflict has ended."

Although the exact details are not known, many Ukrainians will welcome this message as they watch with interest how Trump's team is interacting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskiy stressed throughout the war, that Ukraine needed its Western allies providing it with security assurances that would prevent Russia from using any breaks in the fighting for regrouping and launching another invasion later.

Zelenskiy said to reporters that he would only be able to discuss the topic of U.S. guarantees of security for Ukraine directly with Trump. (Additional reporting and editing by Gram Slattery, Andrea Shalal, and Gareth Jones.

(source: Reuters)