US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Friday to sign a critical minerals deal, as per the Associated Press.
"President Zelensky is going to be coming on Friday, that is now confirmed," Trump said Wednesday at his first cabinet meeting. BBC quoted Trump saying that he and Zelensky are "going to be signing an agreement, which will be a very big agreement."
The confirmation came after Ukraine and the US reached an agreement on a framework for a broad economic deal that would include the exploitation of rare earth minerals, three senior Ukrainian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tuesday.
An official told the Associated Press that Kyiv hoped that signing the agreement would ensure the continued flow of US military support that Ukraine urgently needs while another official said the agreement would provide an opportunity for Zelenskyy and Trump to discuss continued military aid to Ukraine, which is why Kyiv is eager to finalize the deal.
On Wednesday, Trump convened the first cabinet meeting of his second term as the president along with billionaire Elon Musk, who is not a Cabinet member.
“We're gonna solve a lot of problems,” Trump said at the top of the meeting.
