U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent believes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will sign an economic partnership agreement with the United States, UNN reports, citing Fox News and Bloomberg.
Details
"I think he will do it. I think... as soon as the Ukrainians realize that this is a long-term agreement... It's very beneficial for their security," Bessent said when asked on Fox News whether Zelenskiy had signed the deal presented by the US to Ukraine.
Bloomberg writes that this is a deal "in exchange for support in the fight against Russia.
With this proposal, he said, US President Donald Trump wants to "economically bring the Ukrainian and American people closer together.
Bessent said that Trump wants to show Ukrainians that the United States supports them, and to show US taxpayers that the money that has already been sent to the country will be returned.
A deal with Ukraine would allow Trump to reach out to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin "and negotiate with him on a stronger footing," Bessent said.
A deal with Ukraine would allow Trump to take it to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin "and negotiate with him on a stronger basis," Bessent said.
Addendum
According to Bloomberg, Bessent's comments came less than a week after the US Treasury Secretary visited Kyiv to present Ukraine with an economic partnership agreement that "will be needed for continued US support.
The Trump administration, as Bloomberg points out, "recently made it clear that it expects Ukraine to provide access to resources, including critical minerals, as well as promises to buy energy exported from the United States in exchange for military and economic support against Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Trump criticized the billions of dollars in U.S. aid to Ukraine over the past few years and called for an early end to the war. Senior U.S. and Russian officials met for the first round of talks on the war in Ukraine earlier this week, but excluded the leaders of Ukraine and Europe from the meeting.