Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in the United States on Thursday night (Feb 27) for talks with US President Donald Trump about a crucial mineral agreement between their countries.
The two leaders will meet at 1100 hrs local time (1600 GMT), revealed Trump on Thursday.
Also read | Trump insists Putin will honour peace deal with Ukraine, refuses to commit to US forces on ground
What's on the agenda?
Top on the agenda of the meeting between Zelensky and Trump is the much-anticipated minerals and rare earth deal on Ukraine's natural resources.
According to Ukrainian media, the agreement between the two nations will establish a reconstruction investment fund and consists of 11 points.
Also read | 'Did I say that? I can't believe...': Trump disowns remark calling Zelensky a 'dictator'
Will Ukraine receive security guarantees from US?
Whether Trump would agree to provide Ukraine with the security guarantees it has been demanding remains unclear. As per reports from media outlets in both Ukraine and the US, the 10th point in the agreement briefly makes mention of it. It reportedly states: "The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace."
An official who was not named in one of these reports also noted that the economic partnership would not come with any specific guarantees for war funding, or aid in the future. It would also skip commitments to deploy US personnel in the region.
Also read | Keir Starmer’s White House visit: Trump greets UK PM, says ‘We can, we will’ on Ukraine peace
However, a report from Chinese state media channel CCTV said, citing a senior US government official, that the mineral agreement Trump plans on signing with the Ukrainian president does not include any future US commitment to supporting Ukraine. The official added that the agreement was an "important next step" in ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
Also on Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the agreement outline has been completed and that both Ukraine and the US will sign it on Friday without further negotiations on the matter.
(With inputs from agencies)