Zelenskiy says US minerals deal success hinges on Trump talks

By Olena Harmash, Tom Balmforth and Yuliia Dysa

KYIV (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday the success of Ukraine's minerals deal with Washington hinged on his looming talks with President Donald Trump, as the text of the agreement showed the Americans had offered no firm security guarantees.

The deal is at the heart of Kyiv's push to win over Trump's support - including security guarantees - as the U.S. president strives to clinch a rapid end to the war with Russia that Kyiv fears could land a hammer blow to its national interests.

The Ukrainian government was poised to approve the text of the agreement later on Wednesday, so that it could be signed by both sides, the prime minister said, with Zelenskiy potentially visiting Washington this Friday for talks with the U.S. leader.

"This deal could be a great success or it could pass quietly. And the big success depends on our conversation with President Trump," Zelenskiy told a news conference.

Zelenskiy said both sides were still working on organising his potential visit on Friday to sign the deal after a tumultuous week in which the two leaders have exchanged hostile remarks, including Trump calling Zelenskiy a dictator.

The Ukrainian president said success would depend on the United States providing guarantees to protect the future security of Ukraine in the event of any Russian aggression after a peace deal is reached.

A copy of the agreement seen by Reuters on Wednesday and dated February 25 did not spell out concrete security guarantees under the deal, but mentions Kyiv's efforts to obtain them.

"The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace," it said.

Trump told reporters on Tuesday that Zelenskiy wanted to come to Washington on Friday to sign a "very big deal", after two sources with knowledge of the matter said the Ukrainian leader intended to visit that day.

'LONG-TERM COOPERATION'

The deal is part of a broader effort to end the war with Russia and will lay the groundwork for long-term cooperation between Kyiv and Washington, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna told Reuters.

"This agreement signifies our commitment to lasting peace and strong partnership, as well as the U.S. desire to participate in Ukraine's reconstruction," she said in a written statement.

Under the wording of the agreement titled "Bilateral Agreement Establishing Terms and Conditions for a Reconstruction Investment Fund", Ukraine would contribute 50% of "all revenues earned from the future monetization of all relevant Ukrainian Government-owned natural resource assets".

Zelenskiy said the exact amounts and investments would be spelled out in a further agreement to set up the fund.

Those proceeds would go into a fund jointly owned and managed by the United States and Ukraine, the wording of the agreement seen by Reuters says.

The agreement does not name the assets in question, but says they would include deposits of minerals, oil, natural gas, and other extractable materials as well as other infrastructure such as LNG terminals and ports.

The list would be determined in a future agreement on the fund, while the document does not spell out exactly how much money would be generated for the United States or over what timeframe.

Trump initially called for the agreement to help the United States recoup $500 billion of U.S. wartime support given as grants to Ukraine, a figure that Kyiv fiercely opposed, saying it far exceeded the actual U.S. contribution.

"The main thing for me is we are not debtors. There is no $500 billion debt in the agreement, nor $350 billion, nor $100 billion because that would be unfair," Zelenskiy told the briefing.

In a comment aimed at calming the fears of worried Ukrainians, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine would never "sign or consider ... a colonial treaty that did not take into account the interests of the state."

(Additional reporting by Max Hunder; Writing by Tom Balmforth;Editing by Gareth Jones and Ros Russell)