After Trump-Zelenskyy's disastrous Oval Office meet, US, Ukraine plan to sign minerals deal

US and Ukraine are planning to sign an important deal concerning Ukrainian natural resources and minerals, aiming to bolster economic ties between the two nations. US President Donald Trump told his advisors that he wanted to announce the agreement in his Congress address, news agency Reuters reported citing sources.

They, however, mentioned that the deal was yet to be signed and the situation could change. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has openly expressed the country's readiness to formalize agreements with the US, offering preferential access to these resources "at any time and in any convenient format." 

The initial ceremony for signing this deal was to take place in Washington but was interrupted by recent diplomatic fallouts. In the recent Oval Office meeting, Trump and Vice President JD Vance told Zelenskyy that he should thank the US  for its support rather than asking for more aid in front of the American media.

"You're gambling with World War Three," Trump said. Of late, US officials have spoken to officials in Kyiv about the minerals deal and urged Zelenskyy's advisers to convince him to apologise openly to Trump, one of the sources said. 

Previously, Zelenskyy has stated his intention to repair ties with US President Donald Trump, attributing recent discord to public disagreements that led to the suspension of US military aid to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy recounted the unexpected turn of events during their White House meeting, describing it as not proceeding as planned. Calling the Oval Office meeting "regrettable", Zelenskyy wrote on X:  "Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer."

"We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are grateful for this."

The deal that was about to be signed last week did not have any explicit security guarantees for Ukraine but did give the US access to revenues from Ukrainian natural resources.

The minerals deal further envisaged the Ukraine government contributing 50 per cent of future monetization of any state-owned natural resources to a US-Ukraine managed reconstruction investment fund.