Washington, Feb 28 (IANS) Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the White House for a crucial meeting with President Donald Trump at which they are expected to announce a deal sharing rights to his country’s rare earth minerals and other natural resources.
Dressed in his trademark military camouflage, Zelensky was received at the White House porch by the US president.
This US-Ukraine deal is intended to be a step towards a peace agreement ending the Russia-Ukraine war that entered its third year earlier this week.
“It’s a great deal for Ukraine, too, because they get us over there,” President Trump said of the deal at the first meeting of his cabinet on Thursday.
“We’re going to be working over there. We’ll be on the land. And you know, that way it’s this sort of automatic security, because nobody’s going to be messing around with our people when we’re there.”
President Trump sought rights to these rare earth minerals, which are needed in the making of several high-tech equipment for use in defense, automobiles and medicine, as repayment for US contributions to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russia.
President Trump has been pressured by European leaders to ensure there are security guarantees for Ukraine in any deal with Russia.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Britain’s Keir Starmer delivered the message to President Trump directly and publicly in their visits and press interactions at the White House in the past few days.
President Zelensky will underscore that core demand during his meeting with President Trump and may perhaps urge him on it during their press interactions.
Marc Thiessen, a foreign policy expert, wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post on Thursday: “The minerals deal is a security guarantee. Trump has made clear that he is not going to send American troops to Ukraine. But with this deal, he is going to send something better: American workers, bulldozers and earthmovers.”
–IANS
yrj/dan
