Zelensky hesitated to sign a deal that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed during a visit to Kyiv last week, and the Ukrainian leader objected again days later during a meeting in Munich with Vice President JD Vance because the American proposal did not include security guarantees.
Ukraine and the US made significant progress during a three-day visit to Ukraine this week by retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, according to a person familiar with the ongoing negotiations.
Trump's national security adviser also expressed confidence on Friday that Zelensky would eventually accept a deal letting the US access his country's rare earth minerals.
The US and Ukraine have made significant progress towards reaching a minerals deal but Volodymyr Zelensky is not ready to sign an agreement due to a number of “problematic issues,” sources say.
The progress comes after US President Donald Trump and the Ukrainian President traded sharp rhetoric this week about their differences over a deal to provide America with access to the war-torn country’s rare earth minerals.
