US and Ukraine Revive Minerals Deal After Contentious Oval Office Meeting
The United States and Ukraine are moving forward with a minerals agreement that was derailed after a tense Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, sources familiar with the situation revealed on Tuesday.
Trump has expressed a desire to announce the deal during his address to Congress on Tuesday evening, though it remains unsigned, and the situation could still change, according to three sources.
The White House, Ukraine’s presidential administration in Kyiv, and the Ukrainian embassy in Washington have not responded to requests for comment.
The deal was originally put on hold after a heated meeting on Friday, during which Trump and Vice President JD Vance reportedly reprimanded Zelenskiy, urging him to express gratitude for US support rather than publicly requesting additional aid.
“You’re gambling with World War III,” Trump warned, according to sources.
Following the exchange, Zelenskiy was swiftly dismissed from the White House, despite having traveled to Washington to finalize the agreement.
In the aftermath, US officials reached out to Kyiv, urging Zelenskiy’s advisers to persuade him to issue a public apology to Trump in an effort to salvage the deal.
On Tuesday, Zelenskiy took to X (formerly Twitter), calling the Oval Office encounter “regrettable” and expressing Ukraine’s readiness to sign the agreement.
“Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be,” Zelenskiy wrote. “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer.”
The original agreement did not include explicit security guarantees for Ukraine but granted the US access to revenues from Ukraine’s natural resources.
It also proposed that 50% of future profits from state-owned natural resources be allocated to a joint US-Ukraine reconstruction fund.
It remains unclear whether any terms have changed.
On Monday, Trump indicated his willingness to move forward, telling reporters, “Ukraine should be more appreciative. This country has stuck with them through thick and thin. We’ve given them much more than Europe, and Europe should have given more than us.”
France, Britain, and possibly other European nations have reportedly offered to deploy peacekeeping troops in Ukraine if a ceasefire is reached. However, they would seek US support or a security guarantee. Moscow has already dismissed such proposals.
Daniel Fried, a former senior White House official and ambassador to Poland, said finalizing the minerals deal would represent two key victories for Trump: securing a public statement of regret from Zelenskiy and getting European allies to take a more active role in security efforts.
“Trump can and should take the win,” said Fried, now a fellow at the Atlantic Council. “He’d be able to say that he got the Europeans to step up in a way they never have before on a European security issue.”
