Key Points
- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Washington on Friday to sign a minerals deal.
- Donald Trump has ruled out the US providing more formal security guarantees to Ukraine in exchange.
- Former US president Joe Biden backed Ukraine's eventual membership in NATO without offering a concrete timeframe.
US President Donald Trump has ruled out offering security guarantees or NATO membership for Ukraine as his counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepares to visit to seal a critical minerals deal.
Trump, who has upended US policy by reaching out to Russia and seeking a quick end to the three-year war, said European allies would bear responsibility for Ukraine's security.
Addressing reporters at a cabinet meeting, Trump said Zelenskyy would visit on Friday and sign the agreement after intense US pressure to hand over rare earths used in aerospace and other technology.
The deal, under which Ukraine would hand some revenue from its mineral resources to a fund jointly controlled by the US, is central to Ukrainian attempts to win strong support from Trump as he seeks to end Russia's war.
"It's a great deal for Ukraine, too, because they get us over there," Trump said.
"We'll be on the land and, you know, in that way, it's this sort of automatic security, because nobody's going to be messing around with our people when we're there."
But Trump ruled out providing more formal security guarantees, as sought by Ukraine.
"I'm not going to make security guarantees beyond very much," he said.
"We're going to have Europe do that.
"Europe is their next-door neighbour, but we're going to make sure everything goes well."
Asked what concessions would need to be made to end the war, he ruled out Ukrainian membership in NATO, again repeating Russia's stance that the issue was behind its invasion.
"NATO — you can forget about," Trump said. "I think that's probably the reason the whole thing started."
Former US president Joe Biden backed Ukraine's eventual membership in NATO without offering a concrete timeframe.
The US on Monday sided with Russia at the United Nations and against nearly all its European allies with a resolution that called for an end to the war without stressing the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
"We're going to do the best we can to make the best deal we can for both sides," Trump said on Wednesday.
"But for Ukraine, we're going to try very hard to make a good deal so that they can get as much back as possible."
LISTEN TO
Trump says deal with Zelenskyy on Ukrainian resources is imminent
SBS News
26/02/202506:32
Trump insisted his diplomacy was bringing a new spirit of compromise from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who earlier "wanted the whole thing" in Ukraine.
"He's a very smart guy. He's a very cunning person," he said of Putin.
"I think we're going to have a deal. If I didn't get elected, I believe he would have just continued to go through Ukraine."
French President Emmanuel Macron told Trump on Monday the to protect any deal but that US support was critical as a means to guarantee security.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to deliver a similar message when he meets Trump on Thursday.
