Zelenskyy warns US minerals deal will 'not be enough' as Trump confirms 'very big agreement'

26 February 2025, 15:47 | Updated: 26 February 2025, 21:48

Donald Trump has said he will sign a 'very big agreement' with Volodymyr Zelensky when he arrives in Washington, but the Ukrainian president has warned it may not go far enough to end the war.

The agreement, which could be signed as early as Friday when Zelenskyy arrives in Washington, would give the US access to its deposits of rare earth minerals. 

Addressing those in the room in his first cabinet meeting, Trump said the Ukrainian President 'is coming on Friday, it's now confirmed'.

'We're going to be signing an agreement, which will be a very big agreement," he added.

However, there are concerns the deal may not include any security guarantees for Ukraine, something Kyiv deems vital.

Trump has now confirmed he is 'not going to make security guarantees beyond very much'.

'We're going to have Europe do that because... we're talking about Europe is their next door neighbour, but we're making sure everything goes well," he added.

While President Zelenskyy has demanded security guarantees from the US, he has argued Europe, NATO and Washington are all needed to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

He told reporters at a press conference: “We need to speak about it [security guarantees] not only with the United States, [but also]... the Europeans etcetera.”

Moscow has strongly opposed European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov labelling it “deceit … aimed at fuelling the conflict'.

It comes after US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia for peace talks earlier this month, with European leaders and Zelenskyy himself excluded.

While key details of the new minerals deal are yet to emerge, Zelesnkyy says security guarantees must be included alongside the economic agreement.

Read more: Ukraine to ‘sign deal' with US as Trump paves way for Zelenskyy to visit Washington

Read more: NATO scrambles warplanes in Poland after Russia launches latest strikes on Ukraine

He told a press conference: "This is an economic agreement, but I really wanted to have an understanding that we have an equal vision of our future security guarantees, even in the framework agreement.”

But the Ukrainian President, who is set to meet Trump on Friday, remains optimistic.

He added: “This is just a start, a framework, it can be a big success. The success will depend on our conversation with President Trump.”

The Ukrainian President added that he "really wanted at least one sentence" that mentions Ukraine's security guarantees, but noted  that government officials have told him it is there.

"It is important that there is this mention, I am yet to read the detail of it,” he said. 

Zelenskyy added: "I understand my government colleagues suggest that this is to be signed by ministers, and I understand this is a shared understanding of both parties interests and the more focussed on the procedure of the signing procedure."

Currently, The proposed agreement would see Ukraine trade the country's natural resources in exchange for US weapons, which Trump said 'could be worth a trillion dollars'.

The finer details of the deal are still unclear - though reports suggest the newest draft has left out the American demand to get $500bn (£395bn) worth of minerals as 'payback' for weapons provided to Ukraine.