U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Feb. 12 and passed him a draft of the Ukraine-U.S. minerals agreement, Interfax Ukraine reported.
President Donald Trump announced the day prior that Bessent would arrive in Ukraine soon, without disclosing the date of the American official's visit.
"We talked about minerals... 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," Zelensky added.
Trump previously suggested that new aid shipments could depend on trade deals the U.S. negotiates with Ukraine. On Feb. 3, Trump said he wanted to provide Ukraine with weapons and aid in exchange for "rare earths and other things."
Zelensky has said he is open to an arrangement that would grant U.S. companies access to Ukraine's rare earth mineral reserves in exchange for continued support from Washington.
Bessent is the first representative of the new U.S. administration to visit Ukraine after Trump's return to the White House.
The Presidential Office also said previously that Ukraine is preparing to host Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, in February.
According to sources in Ukraine's President's Office, cited by RBC-Ukraine, Kellogg will visit Ukraine on Feb. 20 after the Munich Security Conference.
Dominic Culverwell
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