US President Donald Trump may be seeking a minerals deal with Russia and Ukraine, The Guardian cited Senate democrat Jeanne Chahine on Thursday, who emphasized that 40-50% of those mineral deposits are actually in territory controlled by the Russians. Maybe part of the deal is President Trump is going to get a deal with Vladimir Putin on the mineral rights too. So … that could be a little tricky.”

During the One Decision podcast with former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove and former CIA director Leon Panetta, Chahine remarked that she views any action that strengthens Ukraine’s position in peace negotiations as a positive step.

She believes there is strong support for doing everything possible to achieve peace in Ukraine, and a key priority is ensuring that Ukraine is in the most advantageous position: If the deal contributes to that goal and President Zelenskyy is willing to sign it, she supports it.

Trump has insisted that Ukraine must agree to a deal as repayment for U.S. military support, arguing that Kyiv cannot expect to reclaim all Russian-occupied territory and rejecting its bid to join NATO, announcing on Wednesday that Zelenskyy would visit Washington on Friday to sign a "very big agreement" focused on rare earth minerals and other related issues.

US, Ukraine, agree to minerals deal

Ukrainian officials stated on February 25 that Kyiv has reached an agreement with the United States on a rare earth minerals deal that could improve ties with Trump's administration and pave the path for long-term US security cooperation.

Kyiv authorities said that they are ready to sign an agreement that would see them and Washington cooperating on the development of Ukraine's resources, including oil and gas after Trump dropped his original demand of a $500 billion share in Ukrainian revenues from resources.

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and justice minister leading the negotiations, told the Financial Times on Tuesday that the agreement is just one piece of a larger framework, noting that the U.S. administration has repeatedly emphasized it as part of a broader strategy.

On the other hand, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on February 26 that the United States and Ukraine were close to finalizing a rare earth minerals agreement, calling it both "good" and "important," emphasizing that Trump "wants the war to stop, and to do that, you have to have both sides agree to it. 

Previously, Zelensky refused the proposal made by a US Congressional Delegation at the Munich Press Conference, however, Trump escalated the demands he made during a Fox News interview where he said "I told them [Ukraine] that I want the equivalent like $500B worth of rare earth," adding that "we have to get something. We can’t continue to pay this money."