Ukraine has agreed a crucial minerals deal with the US after the Trump administration dropped key demands.
Kyiv hopes the deal – which will see a fund established between the two countries as they jointly develop Ukraine’s mineral resources, according to the Financial Times – will boost its faltering relationship with Washington.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky plans to visit Washington on Friday to meet Mr Trump after the terms were agreed, according to Reuters.
The US dropped Donald Trump’s demand for $500 billion in potential revenue from Ukrainian resources, a condition which was rejected out-of-hand by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Included in the deal was a US commitment to back Ukraine’s economic development into the future. Deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna told the FT: “The minerals agreement is only part of the picture. We have heard multiple times from the US administration that it’s part of a bigger picture.”
But the deal, which Ukrainian officials made clear was only preliminary and does not yet involve any handover of funds, will not include the US security guarantees keenly sought after by Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer earlier announced a boost in UK defence spending to 2.5 per cent, funded by a cut to the foreign aid budget.
