• Ukrainian President Zelensky confirmed his willingness to sign a minerals deal with the US that was derailed during Friday's tense White House meeting
  • The agreement would allow joint exploitation of Ukraine's mineral resources as part of a post-war recovery plan
  • Zelensky's statement follows a London summit where European allies pledged increased security spending and support for safeguarding any future peace agreement

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Sunday that Ukraine remains prepared to sign a minerals deal with the United States, just days after a highly publicized confrontation with President Donald Trump scuttled the original signing.

"The agreement that's on the table will be signed if the parties are ready," Zelensky stated during a late-night briefing with UK media following a landmark security summit in London. "It is our policy to continue what happened in the past, we're constructive.
If we agreed to sign the minerals deal, we're ready to sign it," he added, according to the BBC.

The proposed agreement, intended as a step toward resolving the three-year conflict in Ukraine, would have established a framework for jointly exploiting Ukraine's vast mineral resources as part of a post-war recovery plan under a US-brokered peace agreement.

The deal collapsed dramatically on Friday during Zelensky's White House visit when President Trump publicly berated the Ukrainian leader, demanding he show more gratitude for American support in the war against Russia.

"You're either going to make a deal or we're out," Trump told Zelensky during their televised Oval Office meeting. "And if we're out, you'll fight it out and I don't think it's going to be pretty." Trump had previously described the proposed minerals agreement as "very fair."

The confrontation ended with Zelensky departing in his motorcade without participating in the planned joint press conference, leaving the resources deal unsigned.

The proposal was designed to offer Washington financial benefits for its role in supporting Ukraine, particularly as Trump has repeatedly refused to commit US military forces to back European peacekeeping troops in any potential truce arrangement.

Sunday's announcement came after Ukraine received renewed support at a summit hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, where numerous European leaders committed to increasing security spending and forming a coalition to safeguard any future peace agreement.

In a related development, French President Emmanuel Macron revealed in a newspaper interview following the London summit that France and Britain were considering proposing a partial one-month truce with Russia, signaling continued diplomatic efforts to find a path toward ending the conflict.

Edited by Annette George