President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said that Ukraine will choose a law firm to represent its interests in order to discuss the details of the new draft proposal for the deal on rare earths and minerals with the United States. He said that once confirmed, a technical team would visit the US to discuss it with the American partner agencies. 

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"Early next week, I will have a big meeting with our team, where I will be presented with all the points of the agreement that satisfy us, or that will reflect the fairness of the agreement in our opinion — as we see it," Zelensky said in a news conference. 

"The team will brief me on this deal, the highlights, at the beginning of the week. And after that, in principle, the technical team will be ready for a trip to the US and for a dialogue with its American partner agencies," said Zelensky, clarifying that he won't take part in this trip. 

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The Ukrainian president also said "America is ready" to apply pressure on Russia to accept a ceasefire. He noted that the two countries have "talked about increasing sanctions pressure on Russians because they don’t want to end the war". 

"And of course, the first step toward ending (the war) is a ceasefire. We are waiting on these steps, we have been waiting on them for a long time," he said. 

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Trump has been pressuring Zelensky to sign economic deals in order to compensate the US for its support in resisting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He, particularly, has set his sights on Ukraine's mineral wealth. 

Ukraine's soils hold five per cent of the world's mineral resources, including iron, manganese, titanium, lithium and uranium. Ukraine has some "rare earths," which is a narrow classification of 17 metals within the wider category of critical minerals, but none have yet been commercially exploited.  

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Marco Rubio says US 'testing' Russia 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US will know within weeks whether or not Russia is serious about pursuing peace with Ukraine. He further said that President Donald Trump was not "going to fall into the trap of endless negotiations" with Moscow. 

"We're testing to see if the Russians are interested in peace," Rubio told journalists in Brussels. 

"Their actions – not their words, their actions – will determine whether they’re serious or not, and we intend to find that out sooner rather than later," he mentioned. 

"The Russians and [Vladimir] Putin will have to make a decision about whether they're serious about peace or not. If it's a delay tactic, [Trump]'s not interested in that. We will know soon enough, in a matter of weeks, not months, whether Russia is serious about peace or not," he said. 

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(With inputs from agencies) 

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos