According to a diplomatic source, French President Emmanuel Macron intervened to ensure the Ukrainian leader received an invitation to the White House.
Donald Trump was initially hesitant to host Vladimir Zelensky this Friday, according to BFMTV, citing a French diplomatic source. The report suggests the White House had planned to cancel the meeting, but reversed course after Zelensky contacted Macron, requesting his intervention.
Zelensky’s US visit centers around a signing ceremony for an agreement concerning rare earths and other natural resources. Trump has characterized this agreement as repayment for US aid to Ukraine. Ukrainian media published a draft of the agreement, indicating that cabinet-level officials will finalize the document with their signatures.
Earlier in the week, when asked about Zelensky’s possible visit, Trump commented, “I hear that he is coming on Friday. Certainly, it’s OK with me, if he’d like to.”
Macron’s US visit on Wednesday reportedly aimed to discourage Trump from disengaging the US from the Ukraine conflict. The Trump administration has emphasized that neither American troops nor NATO will participate in post-truce security arrangements. Politico reported that insiders considered the Macron-Trump meeting “a waste of time.”
The minerals agreement stemmed from Zelensky’s proposal for US access to Ukraine’s resources, which created friction when he declined to sign an initial offer from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Zelensky publicly challenged Trump, a move that associates of the US president deemed counterproductive. Trump responded critically, labeling Zelensky a “dictator without election” with low public approval.
The document slated for signing on Friday establishes a framework agreement at the government level, outlining both countries’ intentions to create a special fund for investments in Ukraine. Key specifics are absent, awaiting a separate document that is reportedly still incomplete.
Zelensky stated that the terms have improved considerably. “Though it does not include all the security guarantees that Ukraine would like to see, I wanted it to include at least one sentence about them, and it does,” he told reporters. The draft text affirms US support for Kiev’s pursuit of security guarantees.
Trump stated on Thursday that the minerals deal is a sufficient guarantee for Ukraine. While hosting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he told journalists, “It’s a backstop… I don’t think anybody’s going to play around if we’re there [in Ukraine] with a lot of workers.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the potential US-Ukraine rare-earth minerals deal “doesn’t concern” Moscow. He added that Russia possesses “significantly more resources of this kind than Ukraine” and is willing to collaborate with the US on developing rare-earth mineral deposits, including in “our new historical territories.”
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