For three consecutive years, Russia has been conducting an invasion of Ukraine. Since the beginning of this aggression, the United States has provided Ukraine with substantial military and financial aid. The previous Biden administration had also pledged to stand by Ukraine until the end.
However, last month, Republican Donald Trump assumed office as the President of the United States. Following this change in leadership, there has been a dramatic shift in the U.S. policy toward Ukraine. In this context, Trump has stated that the United States will not guarantee security for Ukraine.
He also mentioned that Ukraine’s President is set to visit Washington to sign a mineral resources agreement. Al Jazeera reported this information on Thursday, February 27.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump declared that the United States would not provide security guarantees for Ukraine. Additionally, he confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would visit Washington, D.C., on Friday to sign an important mineral agreement.
Trump stated, “I am not going to give too many security guarantees (to Ukraine). We want Europe to take responsibility for this.”
Previously, Zelensky mentioned that a “preliminary” economic agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. was ready. However, this agreement does not include any American security guarantees, which Kyiv considers crucial for ending the war with Russia.
The finalization of the agreement depends on the outcome of the discussions with President Trump later this week in Washington, Zelensky stated in a press conference in Kyiv. He added, “This agreement could be a great success, and its final outcome will depend on our conversation with President Trump.”
Ukraine Agrees to a Mineral Resources Deal with the U.S.
According to media reports, the potential agreement would grant the U.S. access to Ukraine’s valuable mineral resources as compensation for American assistance in resisting Russia’s full-scale invasion that began in February 2022.
The White House has been pressuring Kyiv to allow U.S. access to vast reserves of minerals used in space technology, defense, and nuclear industries. This deal is at the center of Ukraine’s efforts to secure strong support from Trump, who is keen on quickly ending the war with Russia.
On Wednesday, Trump stated that he and Ukraine’s President would sign an agreement giving the U.S. effective rights over Ukraine’s profitable “rare earth” minerals. This would allow Washington to recover the costs of military aid provided to Kyiv during Russia’s three-year-long aggression.
Trump’s Approach to the Ukraine War
During his first cabinet meeting in this new term, Trump mentioned that Zelensky would visit the White House on Friday to sign the agreement and discuss the war situation. He emphasized that the deal would bring “huge resources” to the U.S. but also reiterated that his primary goal is to “end the war,” which has resulted in heavy casualties among Russian and Ukrainian soldiers as well as Ukrainian civilians.
Referring to the $100 billion worth of military aid the U.S. has provided to Ukraine, Trump remarked, “My second priority is to get that money back. Without our military equipment, Russia would have taken over Ukraine, and the war would have ended quickly.”
Trump also stated that he hopes to reach a final agreement with both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the conflict. He has already initiated discussions with Putin for this purpose. However, last week’s meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov excluded Ukrainian and European officials from the discussions.