Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will visit Ukraine this week to discuss U.S. access to critical minerals, following President Trump’s interest in securing resources in exchange for support against Russia. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is open to a deal. Bloomberg’s Natalia Drozdiak, Annmarie Hordern, and Jenny Leonard report that talks on future aid and resources will continue with National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, former-General Keith Kellogg. They write:
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to travel to Ukraine this week as part of initial discussions to secure US access to critical minerals, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Bessent, who will be the first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to visit the country is making the trip to Kyiv days after the president said his administration wanted an agreement with Ukraine for access to the resources in return for aiding in its defense against Russia’s invasion.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment.
Zelenskiy has suggested willingness to an agreement securing more US backing in exchange for some of Ukraine’s rare earths and other minerals. “If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,” he told Reuters in an interview published last Friday.
Ukraine holds significant reserves of uranium and several critical minerals including titanium, lithium, and graphite. The Kyiv government estimates that they could be worth trillions of dollars. […]
Kellogg plans to gather input from officials at the Munich Security Conference, and during visits to Kyiv and other European capitals, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the plans aren’t public.
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