Trump welcomes Zelensky to the White House to sign the agreement on Ukrainian minerals
The US president still has not made any firm commitment to ensure the security of Kiev
WashingtonAfter two weeks in which Donald Trump He has insulted him - "dictator", a qualifier that this Thursday He denied that he had dedicated it to her– and during which has been increasingly leaning towards Moscow, the arrival This Friday by Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House represents a slight improvement in relations between Washington and Kiev. An improvement that was evident hours before the interview, when Trump, in the presence of the premier Britain's Keir Starmer has lowered the tone against his Ukrainian counterpart. Even so, when the Republican received Zelensky, the discomfort was palpable. The Ukrainian could only muster a half-smile.
Seventeen days have passed since the US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, showed up in kyiv with a draft for the agreement on Ukrainian rare earths, which both leaders will sign this Friday. Seventeen days in which Zelensky and Europe have tried to get Washington to commit to guaranteeing Ukraine's security, but the text still does not make it explicit. Zelensky has one last chance today to obtain, in black and white, security guarantees.
Not even visits from Macron, Last Monday, nor from Keir Starmer, this Thursday, They have managed to seal them, beyond many vaguenesses. And without safeguards, a hypothetical lasting peace is not possible, believe Zelensky and his European allies. Macron's warning about how in 2014 the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, already broke a peace agreement due to lack of security guarantees and Starmer's insistence on the issue only found a wall. Trump insisted yesterday that he trusts Putin to end the war. "I don't believe it [that Putin will violate the peace], that will be the agreement," he told reporters.
The last time the two leaders met in person was last December, in the framework of the reopening of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris. The meeting was mediated by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who just on Monday of this week began the dizzying round of meetings with Trump, which has now concluded with Zelensky's visit. Details of the meeting were not released, but the photo from the Elysee Palace that Macron shared on Twitter appears to have aged poorly in a matter of months. "United States, Ukraine and France. Together on this historic day. Reunited at Notre-Dame. We continue our joint efforts for peace and security," The Frenchman wrote in the post where he shared the image.
The prospect of an agreement that would give In the United States, access to billions of dollars in natural minerals and rare earths from Ukraine is a very risky political bet by Kiev, given the unpredictability of the Republican president. Trump, in fact, sees in the agreement not only great business opportunities, but the best security for Ukraine. He also stated that he has "a lot of respect" for Zelensky, which he considers "very brave."
With the rapprochement with Putin, Trump has pincered Ukraine and Europe to remain in a strategic position: on the one hand, he gains access to key minerals to continue competing against China in the race for the development of artificial intelligence; and in turn, the vagueness of the commitment with Kiev does not oblige him to reactivate support in the event of a new Russian aggression, while he keeps the card of being able to make Congress approve the sending of new military aid packages - under the argument of defending the economic interests of the United States - if the relationship with Putin becomes cloudy. However, there is one thing that is not clear: despite obtaining rare earths from Ukraine in the face of China's ban on exporting more of these minerals to the US, Beijing continues to control the refining of rare earths and many countries are forced to do so through the Asian giant.
Trump also anticipated "a very good meeting" with him and assured that efforts to achieve peace "were moving forward quite quickly." He even said: "We want to work with him and we will work with him. I think the president and I really have a good relationship, perhaps it has been a little complicated." He also stressed: "The relationship between Zelensky and Putin is not good, I don't know if you have noticed." Washington's rapprochement with Moscow continues to be the norm, while friction persists with Kiev. Trump praised the Russian president and stressed that he is doing "a good job" to achieve the peace agreement.
Ambiguity also looms over the day after the supposed peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia is signed. Neither the male effusiveness nor the royal invitation of the European spokesmen has been enough to clarify what will happen with the European peacekeeping troops that both Macron and Starmer are willing to send to the territory. Trump told the Frenchman that Russia would not oppose it, but the Kremlin has already denied it. For the moment, the American president has opted to say that a solution will be found that "satisfies" all parties. Yesterday, Starmer had to follow Trump's words and repeated the same message as the Republican: first the agreement must be signed to decide what happens with the peacekeeping troops.
