US, Ukraine agree to terms of critical minerals deal

Washington [US], February 26: The U.S. and Ukraine have agreed on the terms of a draft minerals deal central to Kyiv's push to win Washington's support as President Donald Trump seeks to rapidly end the war with Russia, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
A source familiar with the contents of the draft agreement said that it does not specify any U.S. security guarantees or continued flow of weapons but says that the United States wants Ukraine to be "free, sovereign and secure."
One of the sources familiar with the deal said future weapons shipments are still being discussed between Washington and Kyiv.
Trump told reporters that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wants to come to Washington on Friday to sign a "very big deal." This came after the two leaders exchanged hostile words last week.
The U.S. president, who has cast the deal as a repayment for billions of dollars in aid to Kyiv, also said some form of peacekeeping troops are needed in Ukraine if an agreement to end the conflict is struck. Moscow, which launched an invasion of Ukraine three years ago, has refused to accept any deployment of NATO forces.
Some European countries have said they would be willing to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine. Trump said on Monday that Moscow would accept such peacekeepers, but the Kremlin denied that on Tuesday.
Trump's rush to impose an end to Russia's war in Ukraine and his lurch toward Moscow has stoked fears of far-reaching U.S. concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin that could undermine security in Ukraine and Europe and alter the geopolitical landscape.
Trump last week falsely called Zelenskiy an unpopular "dictator" who needed to cut a quick peace deal or lose his country.
The Ukrainian leader said the U.S. president was living in a "disinformation bubble."
Officials on both sides have agreed to the draft and advised it should be signed, the sources said.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Cooperation