Treasury Secretary Scott Becent met with Ukrainian President Voldymi Zelensky in Kiev on Wednesday to discuss the mineral trade that Becent said it would “provide a long-term security shield to all Ukrainians.”
Zelensky said he was pleased with Bescent's first international visit to Ukraine.
“We value our partnership with the US, thank you for your support in protecting our independence, and strive to expand our joint capabilities, especially in security,” says Zelensky.
“Security is important. Moscow and its allies cannot allow us to gain control of Ukraine. That means we must work together across a free world,” he said. I did.
“We have received the US vision to deepen our cooperation, discuss the content of these proposals today, and work towards a strong agreement. We look forward to progress at the Munich security conference.” he said.
Zelensky is schedule Meet with Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference on Friday. Security is highly wary in Munich after “asylum seekers” in Afghanistan I drove His car injured dozens of people on Thursday morning by a crowd of left-wing protesters. German officials characterized the incident as an “attack.”
President Donald Trump was critical of US heavy spending on Ukraine's defense during the 2024 campaign. I said Last week he wanted Ukraine to pay for financial support from the US military and mineral resources.
“We say they have incredibly valuable rare earths in Ukraine. We want to do business with Ukraine. They say they are in their rare earths and other things. We're going to secure what they're giving them. We need a guarantee,” Trump said.
On Fox News Interview On Monday, Trump told Ukrainians “it's like $500 billion worth of rare earth, and I've essentially agreed to do that, so I don't think it's stupid at least.”
“I told them, we have to get something. We can't keep paying this money,” he said.
Zelensky I said On Wednesday, he was ready to sign such a contract after meeting with Bescent. Zelensky suggested that he could sign a contract when he met Vance of Munich.
“There was a productive and constructive conversation. For me, the issue of security assurance in Ukraine was very important and we talked about minerals in general,” Zelensky said of his speech with Bescent.
“We know that our team has been given the first draft of this document on our national partnerships,” Zelensky I said. “I would like our team to work on this document. I received this document today. We will do everything to ensure that our team can quickly agree and sign this document.”
Bescent I said In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, participating in a mineral partnership with the US will provide a “new level of transparency into Ukrainian businesses.”
“The way to build US interest in the fund is a very high corporate hygiene standard, best practice, and we assume that it will be sent across larger Ukraine,” he said.
“The real reward is when the conflict ends and there's a rush to rebuild Ukraine,” he added.
Bescent said the Ukrainian mineral trade would also help President Trump in peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We show the Russians that we have a permanent alliance with Ukraine and that the US government and the US entities have more assets on the ground in Ukraine. Russians,” Bescent said. said.
