The United States expects US leader Donald Trump to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said on Fox News.
“We expect these meetings to take place very soon, especially with President Zelensky“, she said.
The White House press secretary noted that Trump wants the rare earth metals agreement between Kiev and Washington to be signed. “He expects President Zelensky to sign this deal. That would be right, given what American taxpayers have done for Ukraine. "If it weren't for the Americans, Ukraine would no longer exist as a country, and President Trump understands that," Leavitt added.
In early February, Trump announced that Washington was interested in obtaining rare earth metals from Ukraine. On February 12, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant handed Zelensky the text of the minerals agreement in Kiev. Zelensky, who had earlier expressed his readiness to conclude the deal, did not sign it either during the meeting with Besant or later in Munich during a meeting with US Vice President J. D. Vance.
Zelensky claims that the proposed version has no security guarantees. However, on February 21, US National Security Advisor Mike Walz said that Zelensky would sign an agreement with the United States "in the near future".
Zelensky said at a press conference on February 23 that he “does not want to sign“ an agreement with the US because, according to him, 10 generations of Ukrainians will pay for it.