US Treasury Secretary Yellen Visits Ukraine to Discuss Key Mineral Agreement

On Wednesday, February 12, the United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visited Ukraine to discuss a crucial mineral agreement with President Zelensky. Ukraine is seeking the support of US President Trump during this critical diplomatic moment amid the conflict with Russia. Zelensky expressed his willingness last week to reach an agreement with Washington and hopes to receive security assurance from the United States to end the war with Russia.

Bessent is the first cabinet official of the Trump administration to visit Ukraine, indicating genuine US attention to Ukraine, which is a great relief for the anxious country. Despite the visit, Russia launched missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, early Wednesday, resulting in one casualty, with the sound of explosions echoing over the city.

Zelensky outlined a potential cooperation agreement between Ukraine and the US in an interview with Reuters last week. He presented a map showing the distribution of Ukraine’s mineral resources and emphasized a mutually beneficial cooperation model, stressing that Ukraine would not give away resources for nothing in return.

According to a US official familiar with the matter quoted by Reuters, Bessent’s visit will involve discussions on a strategic mineral agreement, covering energy resources, energy assets, and state-owned enterprises among other related content. The discussions may also include utilizing Ukraine’s abundant underground storage facilities to store US natural gas for use in Europe, a plan that Zelensky previously mentioned they were discussing.

The official stated that the agreement would play a significant role in shaping future security and economic relations between the US and Ukraine. This potential mineral agreement signifies Ukraine’s swift adjustment of its foreign policy to align with the transactional worldview of the new administration in Washington. The US remains Ukraine’s most crucial wartime ally.

Ukraine has been closely monitoring interactions between the Trump administration and Russian President Putin. Trump aims to swiftly end the conflict but has not clearly stated whether he will continue to provide essential military aid to Ukraine.

Following US Middle East envoy Steve Witkof’s visit to Moscow on Tuesday, Russia released an American citizen who was “improperly detained.” Witkof is the first senior US official to visit Russia since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022.

On Wednesday, the US will convene a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting established by former President Biden to provide weapon support to Ukraine. This meeting marks the first session convened by the group since Trump took office, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in attendance.

Trump has mentioned earlier that significant progress has been made in facilitating a Ukraine-Russia agreement and expects to engage in dialogue with Zelensky later this week. On Monday, a senior Russian official responsible for US relations stated that Ukraine must fully meet all of Putin’s conditions, including abandoning plans to join NATO and withdrawing its troops from four Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia as sovereign and under its control before the end of the Ukrainian war. Kiev considers these demands tantamount to surrender.

Zelensky noted that his team is working hard to arrange a meeting with Trump, emphasizing the importance of this meeting before Trump’s meeting with Putin. Trump previously mentioned having dialogues with Putin but did not disclose specific details, while the Kremlin neither confirmed nor denied the discussions.