The White House national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said on Friday that the Ukrainian 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 Trump, with Waltz telling Fox News this week that the Ukrainian leader needs 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 tritium, Waltz said – materials that are essential for advanced technology manufacturing such as nuclear research and semiconductors, and have significant military applications. 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.
The mounting tensions took a turn for the worse when Ukraine was excluded from US-Russian talks in Saudi Arabia this week. Zelenskyy’s subsequent criticism drew a sharp rebuke from Trump, who made unfounded claims that the Ukrainian leader had “started” the war. Zelenskyy responded by accusing Trump of being caught in a “disinformation bubble” – Trump then called the Ukrainian leader a dictator.
Still, Waltz, who recently returned from Saudi Arabia where he met with Russian officials, said negotiations to end the conflict were progressing. He claimed both Putin and Zelenskyy had credited Trump’s leadership as crucial to the peace process, with both leaders allegedly indicating “only he could drive an end to this war”.
The national security adviser also made an increasingly familiar criticism of European allies’ financial support for Ukraine, noting that European contributions were primarily in the form of loans, often repaid through interest on frozen Russian assets, while US aid had been direct funding.
The push on signing the minerals agreement comes as the Trump administration steps up diplomatic engagement with European leaders, with Waltz noting that the French president, Emmanuel Macron, was expected to visit Washington on Monday.
