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The two leaders shook hands in front of the cameras and then entered the White House, ignoring questions from reporters who shouted: "What does Ukraine get out of all this?"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just arrived at the White House, where he was welcomed by President Donald Trump.
The two leaders shook hands in front of the cameras and then entered the White House, ignoring questions from reporters who shouted: "What does Ukraine get out of all this?"
The Ukrainian president said Friday that he thinks President Donald Trump is "on our side" as the two began a crucial summit. Zelensky was speaking during a joint appearance with the US president at the White House, where he added: " I want to discuss what the US will be ready to do."
Zelensky said he met with a bipartisan U.S. Senate delegation during his trip to Washington, D.C. on Friday, which he described as an important visit to the United States.
“Our discussions focused on continued military assistance to Ukraine, relevant legislative initiatives, my meeting with President Trump, efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace, our vision for ending the war, and the importance of strong security guarantees. We are proud to have strategic partners and friends like the United States. We are grateful for the unwavering bilateral and bipartisan support for Ukraine throughout the three years of Russia’s full-scale aggression,” Zelensky said in a post on X.
What is expected to happen from this meeting?
The two leaders are expected to discuss US efforts to end the war and potentially sign a minerals agreement.
The deal would offer the US easy access to Kiev's untapped mineral wealth in exchange for investment and what Ukraine hopes would be concrete security guarantees.
The details of the agreement remain unclear, but analysts say it could lead to broader peace negotiations.
Just days after calling the Ukrainian president a dictator, Trump softened his tone ahead of the meeting, telling reporters on Thursday: " I have a lot of respect for him ."
Recall that Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, while European leaders sought security guarantees for Ukraine and tried to align themselves with Trump after being excluded from US-Russia talks to end the war.
What would a deal on Ukrainian minerals mean for the US?
A rare earth minerals deal is suddenly the focus of Ukraine peace talks. The signatories to the deal, the US and Ukraine, appear to have opposing interpretations of its terms, leaving many of the nitty-gritty details for later discussion.
Several current and former US officials have cast doubt on President Donald Trump's claim that the potential deal he is on the verge of signing with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky would provide the US with easy access to an abundance of rare earth minerals.
Much of what exists will be difficult to exploit, especially in a time of war.
And from a stalled titanium mine in the city of Irshansk, where electricity is only sometimes on for three hours a day, it is hard to see how Ukraine can reach the half-trillion dollars that Trump has suggested they might pay.
The plant’s staff is mostly men, kept out of the draft because titanium is considered a critical industry. Profits are low, prospects are dim. The proposed mineral bonanza now at the center of continued U.S. aid to Ukraine in the biggest war in Europe since the 1940s seems to speak of a fantasy world of future and prosperity.
Trump on Thursday floated the possibility of U.S. personnel in Ukraine working on mineral extraction after a deal on mineral resources goes into effect. But the extent of Ukraine's mineral wealth is unclear. And the nature of the deal is murky.
What happened at the last Trump-Zelensky meeting?
The last time Donald Trump met face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, it was at Trump Tower in September 2024, and then-presidential candidate Trump spoke of his very good relations with both the Ukrainian leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
" If we win, I think we'll get it resolved very quickly. I really think we'll get it done ," Trump said of reaching a peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
-Zelensky called, saying: "I hope we have more good relations between us."
“Oh, I understand. But you know, it takes two to tango ,” Trump said.
Trump, who was skeptical during the campaign about continuing US security assistance to Ukraine, later added that it would do something good for both sides.
"Before I took the presidency, but long before that, I thought we could do something that was good for both sides ," Trump said.
After Trump won the 2024 election, the pair met again in Paris in December, along with French President Emmanuel Macron. Zelensky thanked Macron for hosting the meeting in a post on X and expressed "deep gratitude" to Trump for his "strong determination" to end the conflict./ Pamphlet
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