President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy are scheduled to meet on Friday for the first time since Trump’s return to the White House. The meeting is expected to result in the signing of a potentially crucial minerals agreement aimed at resolving the conflict with Russia.
While some details of the agreement have been released since its announcement this week, the specifics remain undisclosed. European leaders are closely monitoring the situation, particularly concerning potential security implications.
Trump stated on Wednesday that Zelenskyy should “forget about” NATO membership aspirations. However, Zelenskyy emphasized the need for security guarantees, stating that without them, “we won’t have a ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing.”
“I want to find a NATO path or something similar,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine has long pursued NATO membership, and in 2008, the alliance agreed in principle to Ukraine’s future membership. Zelenskyy has argued that NATO membership is the best defense against future Russian aggression.
Trump told reporters that a minerals deal with Washington would grant Kyiv “automatic security” through the presence of American extractors on Ukrainian territory.
“Nobody’s going to be messing around with our people when we’re there,” Trump said. “We’ll be there in that way.”
However, it’s uncertain whether this “guarantee” will satisfy Zelenskyy. Former CIA Moscow Station Chief Dan Hoffman believes numerous factors will determine Putin’s deterrence, including Kyiv’s rearmament capabilities and NATO’s willingness to deploy troops to Ukraine.
“As far as deterring Putin from attacking again [and] as far as Ukraine’s relationship with the United States, especially with this administration, you want the U.S. to have economic skin in the game,” Hoffman said. “That’s how you walk down that path of closer bilateral relationship, and one where it’s certainly in our interest … for [Ukraine] to be an independent, sovereign nation.”
Trump noted on Wednesday that European allies, including the U.K. and France, will be observing U.S.-Ukraine and Russia negotiations “very closely.”
“They volunteered to put so-called peacekeepers on the site. And I think that’s a good thing,” he added.
In response to questions by Digital regarding the European Union’s stance on a U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas stated the for Kyiv, provided it strengthens Ukraine’s position in negotiations with Russia.
“[The] U.S. also has a very clear self-interest in play, and that hopefully makes U.S. support Ukraine more, because economic ties are making this stronger,” she said. “And then it all works.”
“Right now, it is a very important message that we send that we are behind Ukraine, to make them strong enough to be able to say no to a bad deal,” she added.
Besides European allies, Putin is also closely monitoring the potential U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement.
Putin’s representatives reportedly proposed a similar deal to the Trump administration during meetings in Saudi Arabia last week. The proposal involved granting the U.S. access to minerals in Ukrainian regions currently occupied by Russian forces, including Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia.
The Trump administration has reportedly not dismissed the possibility of an economic agreement with Moscow.
Hoffman argues that it is in Zelenskyy’s strategic interest to reach an agreement with Trump, as it would hinder Putin’s objectives.
“[Putin] doesn’t want Ukraine to have commercial relationships with Europe and the United States,” he said. “That was part of why he wanted to topple the central government in Kyiv and then install a puppet regime that was beholden to Russia.
“The more links Ukraine has to the West … commercial links, diplomatic and strategic military links … it’s not good for Putin,” Hoffman added.
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