Ukrainian President Zelensky Welcomes Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for Rare Earth Talks

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday to discuss a minerals deal that Bessent said would “provide a long-term security shield for all Ukrainians.”

Zelensky said he was pleased that Bessent made his first international visit to Ukraine:

“We value our partnership with the United States, are grateful for the support in defending our independence, and strive to expand our joint capabilities – especially in security,” Zelensky said.

“Security matters. Moscow and its allies cannot be allowed to gain control over Ukraine, and that means we must work together – across the free world,” he said.

“We received the U.S. vision for deepening our cooperation, discussed the substance of these proposals today, and are working toward a strong agreement. We expect to make progress by the Munich Security Conference,” he said.

Zelensky is scheduled to meet with Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference on Friday. Security is on high alert in Munich after an Afghan “asylum seeker” drove his car into a crowd of left-wing protesters on Thursday morning, injuring dozens of people. German officials characterized the incident as an “attack.”

President Donald Trump, who was critical of heavy U.S. spending on Ukraine’s defense during his 2024 campaign, said last week he wanted Ukraine to pay for American military and financial support with mineral resources.

“We’re telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths. We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine, where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earths and other things. We want a guarantee,” Trump said.

In a Fox News interview on Monday, Trump said he told the Ukrainians he wants “like $500 billion worth of rare earth, and they’ve essentially agreed to do that, so at least we don’t feel stupid.”

“I said to them, we have to get something. We can’t continue to pay this money,” he said.

Zelensky said on Wednesday he was ready to make such a deal after meeting with Bessent, who presented him with a draft of the minerals agreement to review. Zelensky hinted the deal could be signed when he meets with Vance in Munich.

“We had a productive, constructive conversation. For me, the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine is very important, and we talked about minerals in general,” Zelensky said of his talk with Bessent.

“I know that our team has been given the first draft of this document on a partnership between our countries,” Zelensky said. “I really want our team to work on this document. We received this document today. We will do everything so that our teams can quickly agree and sign this document.”

Bessent said in his own Fox News interview on Wednesday that entering a minerals partnership with the United States would give “a new level of transparency to Ukrainian business.”

“The way we are going to structure the U.S. interest in the fund is very high corporate hygiene standards, best practices, and one assumes that will then be transmitted to the larger Ukraine as a whole,” he said.

“The real payoff will be when the conflict ends and there is the rush to rebuild Ukraine,” he added.

Bessent said the Ukraine minerals deal would also help President Trump in his peace negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“It will be showing the Russians that we have an enduring alliance with Ukraine, and then more assets that the U.S. government, U.S. entities have on the ground in Ukraine – that should act as a deterrent over the long run to any more incursions by the Russians,” Bessent said.