Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Friday, President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday during his first Cabinet meeting. The visit comes as the Trump administration moved closer over the last few days to finalize a deal on rare minerals with Ukraine.

“President Zelenskyy is going to be coming on Friday, that’s now confirmed, and we’re going to be signing an agreement, which will be a very big agreement,” Trump announced.

Speaking on the deal’s scope, Trump revealed that the U.S. will be getting approximately $350 billion in agreement—three times more than the $100 billion agreement that Europe will get. “That’s a big difference,” Trump emphasized.

“I’m not going to make security guarantees,” Trump declared indicating that Europe should assume the security burden.

Trump also took aim at the Biden administration, criticizing its handling of the war in Ukraine.

“The previous administration put us in a very bad position, but we’ve been able to make a deal where we’re going to get our money back, and we’re going to get a lot of money in the future,” he said.

Trump expressed optimism that he thinks a deal between Russia and Ukraine will be possible to be made.

Speaking to reporters at the White House earlier this morning , Leavitt underscored the strategic significance of the agreement, calling it a top priority for President Trump.

“The critical minerals deal and the rare steel, as President Trump said, is absolutely pivotal,” Leavitt said. “We’re very close to the finish line in getting that deal done.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Pavlovic Today. Credentialed at the White House, the U.S. Senate Press Gallery and the State Department. Pavlovic was a Teaching Fellow and Doctoral Fellow in the Political...