US President Donald Trump has announced that he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on Friday to finalise a deal on the sharing of his nation’s mineral riches.
In order to prevent further Russian aggression, Zelensky has called the bilateral agreement “preliminary” and stated that he wants additional agreements that involve US security guarantees. Trump, however, stated that the US would not offer guarantees “beyond… very much” and that Europe should bear the burden instead.
Trump claimed that having American labourers mine rare earth metals on Ukrainian territory would give Ukraine “automatic security” during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. He reiterated Russia’s assertions that the problem was one of the main causes of the conflict and advised Kyiv to “forget about” joining NATO.
We’re going to make a deal with Russia and Ukraine to stop killing people,” the US president told reporters, hinting that a truce between Russia and Ukraine was imminent. However, Zelensky stated that “we won’t have a ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing” in the absence of security assurances.
Fearing that Ukraine’s membership would bring NATO forces too close to its borders, Russia has continuously resisted the proposal. The alliance had stated in 2008 that Ukraine might join in the future. Russia claims it opposes Trump’s suggestion that European peacekeeping forces be sent to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire agreement.
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