After meeting with Keith Kellogg, a special envoy of US President Donald Trump, on February 20, President Zelensky said that the "detailed" dialogue with the special delegate mentioned the nearly three-year war situation and the plan to exchange prisoners with Russia.
We can and must ensure a solid peace, so that Russia can never return to the conflict, President Zelensky stressed. "We have proposed the fastest and most effective way to achieve results. My team is ready to work 24/7.
The meeting took place amid the news that the Trump administration had sent a new draft of a US-Ukraine economic deal worth hundreds of billions of dollars on rare earth minerals in Kiev.
The Ukrainian president had previously refused to sign the initial deal, escalating tensions as Trump criticized Zelensky. This has delayed negotiations between the two countries.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz warned President Zelensky that his criticism of President Trump for spreading "Russian misinformation" about the decision to postpone the election in Ukraine is "un acceptable."
They need to calm down, take the situation seriously and sign that deal, Mr. Waltz emphasized.
According to Axios, the new economic agreement allows the US to hold 50% of the shares of Ukraine's rare earth mineral exploitation rights - a resource worth about 500 billion USD.
Speaking at the White House, Coach Waltz affirmed that the deal is directly related to peace negotiations and called it "the best security guarantee that Ukraine can hope for - much more than another shipment of ammunition".
Most of the US weapons sent to Ukraine are taken directly from stockpiles, and the process of replenishing this resource has been delayed, Mr. Waltz explained. Many members of the National Assembly have asked: When will this end? How much more is needed? How many lives will be lost? How much will we have to spend?"
President Trump is focusing on ending the war and moving forward. We can debate the past all day, but the most important thing right now is to end the conflict, Waltz said.
