The United States and Ukraine are likely to sign an agreement on rare-earth materials on Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The US daily reported citing its sources that "an agreement could be signed as soon as Saturday, although it is not yet complete," adding that "the exact terms [of the agreement] could not be learned.
Speaking to journalists on Friday in the Oval Office about the possible deal on the rare-earth materials with Ukraine, US President Trump said "I think they want it. They feel good about it."
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on his Telegram channel on Friday that Ukraine anticipated "a just result" regarding the deal with the United States on rare-earth materials.
"This is an agreement that can strengthen our relations, and the key is to work out the details to ensure its effectiveness," he said. "I look forward to the outcome - a just result."
On February 12, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent handed over a draft agreement on rare-earth metals while visiting Kiev. Zelensky did not sign it then, nor later, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, during his meeting with US Vice President JD Vance.
Instead, the Ukrainian delegation presented a revised version with its proposed amendments which the Americans decided not to take it into account.
In recent days, tensions between the United States and Ukraine have escalated sharply. Trump labeled Zelensky a dictator and accused him of obstructing a rare earths deal. In response, Zelensky suggested that Trump was a victim of "Russian disinformation."
In early February, Trump said that Washington was interested in obtaining rare-earth metals from Ukraine. Zelensky, in turn, noted his readiness to make a deal and suggested that the outcome of negotiations on this issue could be determined at the Munich Security Conference on February 14-16.
However, on February 14 in Munich, the Kiev authorities rejected the US administration's plan to help Ukraine in exchange for Washington's right to 50% of Ukraine's rare-earth metals. At the same time, Zelensky pointed out that there were no security guarantees in the proposed agreement. Kiev said it was working on a counterproposal.
