Zelensky surrenders to Trump and 'will sign mineral deal within hours'

[mystery-ak]

BREAKING NEWSZelensky surrenders to Trump and 'will sign mineral deal within hours'


By STEPHEN M. LEPORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: 18:12 EST, 21 February 2025 | Updated: 18:43 EST, 21 February 2025

Donald Trump appears to have won his trade standoff with Volodymyr Zelensky, as the Ukrainian president is set to give in and sign a deal giving the U.S. access to deposits of critical minerals.

The deal was seen as crucial for satisfying Washington's demands for a peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia to end their three-year long war.

It's a staggering surrender from Zelensky, who had said just days earlier: 'I defend Ukraine, I can't sell our country.'

Zelensky said on Friday that officials from his country and the U.S. were working on concluding an economic deal to ensure that the accord worked and was fair to Kyiv.

'We're signing an agreement, hopefully in the next fairly short period of time,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about a deal for Ukraine's minerals.

The Wall Street Journal later cited several people familiar with the matter that the deal is close and will be signed within hours.

It comes following word that Zelensky angered Trump so much during negotiations that Trump threatened to completely pull US funding from Ukraine, Axios reported.

On Wednesday Zelensky rejected the demand for a share of its rare earth minerals -critical for cellphone production and a host of clean technologies.

That triggered a brutal war of words between the two leaders but an improved offer has reportedly been made to Kyiv.

more
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14423219/volodymyr-zelensky-surrenders-donald-trump-sign-mineral-deal-hours.html

[Hoodat]

Isn't this the deal that Zelensky agreed to a week ago?

[Bigun]

Isn't this the deal that Zelensky agreed to a week ago?

I think you meant to type rejected.

[Timber Rattler]

Isn't this the deal that Zelensky agreed to a week ago?

This right here is key:

Bessent said such an 'economic commitment' would grant Ukraine a 'long-term security shield' provided by Washington - an idea that Zelensky first proposed as part of his 'Victory Plan' unveiled before Western allies and Ukraine's parliament in October.

At that time, the Ukrainian President said Kyiv could sign an agreement with the US, EU and other unnamed allies that would allow for joint investments and use of Ukraine's natural resources.

But upon reviewing the deal proposed last week by Bessent, Zelensky and his aides discovered that there were no concrete security guarantees outlined in the document.

Vance, Rubio, Bessent, and Kellogg apparently agreed to some sort of "de facto" security guarantee for Ukraine if Zelensky would just sign.  BUT when Zelensky was handed the written contract, that guarantee was no where to be found!  So Trump was trying to pull a fast one on Zelensky by taking Ukraine's rare earth minerals but giving no future security guarantee in return, as had originally been promised.

No wonder Zelensky was pissed.  Trump was playing him for a fool.

 

[Canuck Conservative]

The one a week ago meant Ukraine gives the US half its minerals, but gets nothing in return - not much of a deal.

And half its minerals are still worth a lot more than what funding Ukraine has actually received from the US

This deal obviously has a more concrete return.

[Hoodat]

The one a week ago meant Ukraine gives the US half its minerals, but gets nothing in return - not much of a deal.

That 'deal surfaced only three or four days ago.  It was different from the deal decided last week.

[Timber Rattler]

The one a week ago meant Ukraine gives the US half its minerals, but gets nothing in return - not much of a deal.

And half its minerals are still worth a lot more than what funding Ukraine has actually received from the US

This deal obviously has a more concrete return.

More:

The deal appears to have come together with the help of retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump's envoy to Ukraine whom the president criticized for being too pro-Zelensky earlier Friday, according to Politico.

(snip)

Senior government sources told the Financial Times that the deal provided scant details of what this 'long-term security shield' would look like.

'When we looked at the details there was nothing there [about future US security guarantees],' one official said, while another told The Telegraph that a clause in the contract awarded the US 'a lien on revenues'.

In other words, the official said, the contract meant 'pay us first, and then feed your children'.

(snip)

According to the private draft seen by the Telegraph, the contract not only covered mineral resources, but the 'economic value associated with... oil and gas resources, ports, other infrastructure (as agreed)', leaving it unclear what else might be encompassed.

'This agreement shall be governed by New York law, without regard to conflict of laws principles,' it stated, going on to say that 'for all future licences, the US will have a right of first refusal for the purchase of exportable minerals'.

An analysis of the contract's terms by the Telegraph concluded that, if the terms of the draft dated February 7, 2025 draft were accepted by Ukraine, Trump's demands would amount to a higher share of Ukrainian GDP than reparations imposed on Germany following World War I.

From the Axios cite:

"It's a sh*t sandwich," a Trump administration official acknowledged."  But Ukraine is going to have to eat it because [Trump] has made clear this is no longer our problem."

And Trump has turned on Kellogg..surprise!


MAGA takes aim at the Republican hawks

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/21/trump-gop-foreign-policy-hawks-00002463

Some of the hawks whose wings are being clipped are inside the Trump administration — including Kellogg, a decorated former three-star Army general whom Trump named as his chief envoy to settle the war that Russia started when it invaded Ukraine three years ago.

Kellogg had served as former Vice President Mike Pence’s national security adviser and had advised Trump on defense matters during his first term. During the transition, GOP hawks on Capitol Hill pressed for Kellogg to get a senior role, knowing he was sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause they’ve also championed.

But as talk about striking a peace deal has escalated, Kellogg has fallen out of favor inside the West Wing, with some there viewing him as too supportive of Ukraine — in other words, embracing what has long been the default American position in its long rivalry with Russia.

(snip)

But the larger issue Kellogg is facing is that some in the administration believe he’s failing to understand where Trump wants to go with the talks. That, White House insiders say, is why he was not included in a high-level sitdown of U.S. and Russian leaders in Saudi Arabia earlier this week.

Instead, Trump officials sent him to Kyiv for what some are calling the “kids’ table” of negotiations. On Wednesday, the administration named Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff — not Kellogg — to take the lead in communicating with the Russians while Kellogg meets with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian leaders.

White House frustrations boiled over after Kellogg gaggled with reporters upon arriving in Kyiv on Wednesday — and, in the view of Trump officials, failed to push back on Zelenskyy’s objections to the new U.S. position on direct talks with Russia. Later that day, the Ukrainian leader would accuse Trump of being duped by Putin — or “living in this disinformation space” — infuriating the president.

A person close with Kellogg said he did not want to antagonize a negotiating counterpart without marching orders to do so, and he hadn’t received any.

But a message was soon sent from Washington, according to another person familiar with the matter: The White House was unhappy with his performance, and he should stop doing media. On Thursday, a planned joint press conference with Zelenskyy and Kellogg was canceled at the behest of U.S. officials.

[verga]

 

[libertybele]

Yet he'd supposedly step down if Ukraine were to get NATO membership.   

When Z actually signs something let me know...even at that anything he signs I doubt he has any intent of honoring it.

[Smokin Joe]

Yet he'd supposedly step down if Ukraine were to get NATO membership.   

When Z actually signs something let me know...even at that anything he signs I doubt he has any intent of honoring it.

If there are going to be any benefits from the mineral deal, someone will have to keep anyone else from invading and taking them, or the Ukrainians will have to have the means to do so themselves. There is a roundabout implied security agreement in there that means instead of donations, purchases are the more likely means of providing those means.

[The_Reader_David]

Of course, an agreement to give the US a significant share of Ukraine's strategic mineral output (it's not just rare earths), becomes worthless if Ukraine is overrun by Russia, so why the hell isn't there a security guarantee included since we gain an interest in defending our share of the mineral output against Russian seizure, which would involve defending their location, i.e. Ukraine? 

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Of course, an agreement to give the US a significant share of Ukraine's strategic mineral output (it's not just rare earths), becomes worthless if Ukraine is overrun by Russia, so why the hell isn't there a security guarantee included since we gain an interest in defending our share of the mineral output against Russian seizure, which would involve defending their location, i.e. Ukraine?

Looks at earlier posters.

Don't need a security agreement as we will protect our interests regardless.

[Timber Rattler]

Looks at earlier posters.

Don't need a security agreement as we will protect our interests regardless.

No we won't.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

No we won't.

Hardly Surprising: Ukraine Mineral Agreement Implies US Sovereignty Guarantee
David Strom 4:40 PM | February 24, 2025
 
National Security NeverTrumpers are either the stupidest people on Earth, or so deeply invested in an outdated model of of pursuing "national security" that they are willing to ignore or lie about obvious facts.

It's pretty clearly the latter, IMHO. Few of these people are actually stupid or even midwits. Most are pretty smart and knowledgeable.

A charitable interpretation, which I suppose applies to some subset, is that they are set in their ways and can't see how the landscape has changed. An uncharitable one is that they make a lot of money promoting one vision, so adapting to reality is too costly to allow.

Axios reports something that I anticipated ever since the minerals deal was floated. Trump, being the negotiator, pushed for maximum benefit, outraging Europeans and pundits everywhere. He was accused of abandoning Ukraine, which seemed absurd to me. Opposing Ukraine's desire to be in NATO and working to end the war is hardly "abandoning" Ukraine. It is common sense and moral.

The U.S. and Ukraine are closing in on minerals agreement worth hundreds of billions of dollars under which the U.S. would express its desire to keep Ukraine "free, sovereign and secure," according to a draft obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: The Trump administration sees the agreement as a way to get a return on U.S. investment in Ukraine, which has vast untapped mineral wealth. Ukrainian officials see the deal as a way to halt the deterioration of relations with the Trump administration and establish a longer-term partnership with the U.S.

A Ukrainian official told Axios a deal is close and could be signed as soon as Monday. The official said the document Axios has reviewed is the most recent version, but could still be amended.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna confirmed in an X post Monday that the sides were close to a deal, and said signing it would "showcase our commitment for decades to come."
Driving the news: The draft agreement calls for the establishment of a "Reconstruction Investment Fund" that will be co-managed by the U.S. and Ukraine.

Key quote: "The Government of the United States of America intends to provide a long-term financial commitment to the development of a stable and economically prosperous Ukraine," the draft says.

It adds that the fund will be designed "so as to invest in projects in Ukraine and attract investments to increase development," including in areas like mining and ports.
But it also suggests the U.S. will recoup some of its expenditures related to "defending, reconstructing, and returning Ukraine" to its pre-war GDP.
This was obviously coming because a major US economic interest in Ukraine's mineral production would mean that we have to make major efforts to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine.
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/02/24/hardly-surprising-ukraine-mineral-agreement-implies-us-sovereignty-guarantee-n3800139

[Sighlass]

So I think I read that Ukraine had a lot of minerals that make up lithium batteries. Is that true? Something China was taking advantage of as being they had most of it. Seems I also read the US had a good supply of it but didn't want to mine it, environmental issues.

[jafo2010]

Canuck Conservative...

The one a week ago meant Ukraine gives the US half its minerals, but gets nothing in return - not much of a deal.

Seriously?  You think the USA is going to sign an agreement with Zelensky, and then with Putin giving him the other half of the mineral wealth in eastern Ukraine without providing some form of security for Ukraine? 

What Trump will do next is tell the EU nations part of NATO to station military forces in Ukraine as a buffer to Russia, or perhaps we withdraw from NATO.  European military forces will pour into Ukraine to protect it from another attack.  They will not become a member of NATO until Trump acquires Russia as our 51st state.  That may happen with whoever replaces Putin.

Yes, Russia is headed for another financial collapse on par with 1991, only perhaps worse, for he promised huge sums of money to men going to Ukraine that he has not paid.  So, if the war ends in Ukraine, and Putin reneges on the acquisition bonuses promised, and he will, you can bet there will be a few thousand men to rip his head from his shoulders in Moscow.

I think Putin's days are numbered, regardless what he does.

And for Zelensky, 80% is better than 0% all day long. 

And if we get Russia as the 51st state, all these extra lands become part of the USA.  Not a state, but perhaps a territory to test out the relationship.  Jettison all the mussie areas, i.e Dagestan, Chechnya, and Russia is prime land.

[Timber Rattler]

Hardly Surprising: Ukraine Mineral Agreement Implies US Sovereignty Guarantee
David Strom 4:40 PM | February 24, 2025
 
National Security NeverTrumpers are either the stupidest people on Earth, or so deeply invested in an outdated model of of pursuing "national security" that they are willing to ignore or lie about obvious facts.

It's pretty clearly the latter, IMHO. Few of these people are actually stupid or even midwits. Most are pretty smart and knowledgeable.

A charitable interpretation, which I suppose applies to some subset, is that they are set in their ways and can't see how the landscape has changed. An uncharitable one is that they make a lot of money promoting one vision, so adapting to reality is too costly to allow.

Axios reports something that I anticipated ever since the minerals deal was floated. Trump, being the negotiator, pushed for maximum benefit, outraging Europeans and pundits everywhere. He was accused of abandoning Ukraine, which seemed absurd to me. Opposing Ukraine's desire to be in NATO and working to end the war is hardly "abandoning" Ukraine. It is common sense and moral.

The U.S. and Ukraine are closing in on minerals agreement worth hundreds of billions of dollars under which the U.S. would express its desire to keep Ukraine "free, sovereign and secure," according to a draft obtained by Axios.

Why it matters: The Trump administration sees the agreement as a way to get a return on U.S. investment in Ukraine, which has vast untapped mineral wealth. Ukrainian officials see the deal as a way to halt the deterioration of relations with the Trump administration and establish a longer-term partnership with the U.S.

A Ukrainian official told Axios a deal is close and could be signed as soon as Monday. The official said the document Axios has reviewed is the most recent version, but could still be amended.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna confirmed in an X post Monday that the sides were close to a deal, and said signing it would "showcase our commitment for decades to come."
Driving the news: The draft agreement calls for the establishment of a "Reconstruction Investment Fund" that will be co-managed by the U.S. and Ukraine.

Key quote: "The Government of the United States of America intends to provide a long-term financial commitment to the development of a stable and economically prosperous Ukraine," the draft says.

It adds that the fund will be designed "so as to invest in projects in Ukraine and attract investments to increase development," including in areas like mining and ports.
But it also suggests the U.S. will recoup some of its expenditures related to "defending, reconstructing, and returning Ukraine" to its pre-war GDP.
This was obviously coming because a major US economic interest in Ukraine's mineral production would mean that we have to make major efforts to defend the sovereignty of Ukraine.
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/02/24/hardly-surprising-ukraine-mineral-agreement-implies-us-sovereignty-guarantee-n3800139

David Strom at Hot Air is the only idiot here in this piece.  "Implied sovereignty"?

 

Give me a break!