White House and Ukraine draw closer to rare earths deal

The White House and Ukraine have made significant progress toward reaching an agreement that would provide the US with access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The progress in talks comes after President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky traded sharp rhetoric this week about their differences over the matter.

Mr Zelensky said he balked at signing off on a deal that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed during a visit to Kyiv last week. The Ukrainian leader objected again days later during a meeting in Munich with Vice President JD Vance because the American proposal did not include security guarantees.

But the two sides made significant progress during a three-day visit to Ukraine this week by retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, Mr Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, according to the person familiar with the ongoing negotiations who was not authorised to comment publicly.

While the Ukrainians were rattled by Mr Trump, the still-not-completed agreement came into focus over three days of meetings in Ukraine between Mr Kellogg and Mr Zelensky and other top-ranking Ukrainian officials, the person said.

In addition to Mr Zelensky, the talks included foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, Rada speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk and others, the person said.

As Mr Kellogg returned to Washington on Friday evening, Mr Zelensky in his nightly address said the two sides were still working on a draft agreement. It was a notably optimistic tone after Mr Trump earlier in the day in a Fox News Radio interview said Mr Bessent’s visit to Kyiv had been a “wasted trip”.

“Today, Ukrainian and US teams are working on a draft agreement between our governments,” Mr Zelensky said in his address.

“This agreement can add value to our relations — what matters most is getting the details right to ensure it truly works. I look forward to a just result.”

Mr Trump said he wanted such a deal earlier this month and it was initially proposed last autumn by Mr Zelensky as part of his plan to strengthen Kyiv’s hand in future negotiations with Moscow.

Mr Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz also expressed confidence on Friday that Mr Zelensky would eventually accept a deal letting the US access his country’s rare earth minerals.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Mr Waltz said: “Here’s the bottom line. President Zelensky is going to sign that deal.”

It is not clear whether the White House has offered Ukraine any security guarantees in the emerging deal.

Earlier proposals focused on how the US could use Kyiv’s minerals “as compensation” for support already given to Ukraine by the Biden administration and as payment for future aid.

The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the reported progress.

Mr Trump’s aides — secretary of state Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Waltz — met with senior advisers to Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia earlier this week for preliminary talks about ending the war.

The US president faced criticism from Zelenskyy for not including Ukraine and other European allies in the talks.