LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plans to travel to Washington on Friday to meet U.S. President Donald Trump after officials agreed to terms on a draft minerals deal, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
The White House declined comment.
The minerals deal is central to Kyiv’s push to win U.S. support as Trump seeks to rapidly end the war with Russia. Trump and Zelenskiy exchanged hostile words last week.
Trump called Zelenskiy an unpopular “dictator” who needed to cut a quick peace deal or lose his country, while the Ukrainian leader said the U.S. president was living in a “disinformation bubble”.
One of the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told Reuters the White House had proposed the visit.
Officials on both sides have agreed to the draft and advised it should be signed, the source said.
The deal could open up Ukraine’s vast mineral wealth to the U.S., with Trump seeking hundreds of billions of dollars to repay Washington for its support.
Another source familiar with the matter said Zelenskiy may meet lawmakers on Capitol Hill, but that the schedule of the visit was still in flux.
(Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Erin Banco; editing by David Gregorio)
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