The White House national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said on Friday that the Ukraine president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was expected to sign a minerals agreement with the United States imminently, as part of broader negotiations to end the war with Russia.
“Here’s the bottom line: President Zelenskyy is going to sign that deal, and you will see that in the very short term,” Waltz said during remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
The statement comes amid an increasingly public dispute between Zelenskyy and Donald Trump, with Waltz telling Fox News this week that the Ukrainian leader needed to “tone it down” and sign the proposed agreement.
The proposed partnership would give the United States access to Ukraine’s deposits of critical minerals including aluminum, gallium and titanium, Waltz said – materials that are essential for advanced technology manufacturing such as semiconductors and have significant military applications.
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The so-called agreement is also being positioned as a way for American taxpayers to recoup some of their investment in Ukraine’s defense, with US aid to Ukraine having exceeded $175bn, according to Waltz.
Waltz indicated that interest in a deal was first broached by Zelenskyy last September as part of his “victory plan” seeking US investment, but it is not clear whether any idea revolved around the US developing rare earth mineral resources in Ukraine.
Last week, the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, presented Zelenskyy with the draft proposal for that plan, with Ukraine providing approximately $500bn worth of rare earth elements to the US.
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