U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to travel to Ukraine this week to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky as part of U.S. efforts to resolve the war and secure access to critical minerals.
That’s according to Bloomberg, Ukrinform reports.
“Bessent, who will be the first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to visit the country, is making the trip to Kyiv days after the president said his administration wanted an agreement with Ukraine for access to the resources in return for aiding in its defense against Russia’s invasion,” the report states.
President Donald Trump confirmed on Truth Social that Bessent would travel to Ukraine. However, he did not specify whether the visit would include discussions on access to critical minerals.
“I am sending Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to Ukraine to meet President Zelensky. This war must and will end soon — too much death and destruction. The U.S. has spent billions of dollars globally, with little to show. When America is strong, the world is at peace,” Trump wrote.
Zelensky confirmed earlier that he personally proposed the idea of granting the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for security guarantees and financial incentives. Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine holds the largest uranium and titanium reserves in Europe and warned that it is not in the United States’ interest for these resources to fall into the hands of Russia, North Korea, China, or Iran.
Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Source: U.S. treasury secretary to visit Ukraine for talks on rare earth minerals – Bloomberg
