Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he’s received an invitation to meet with Donald Trump in Washington after negotiators secured a draft agreement giving the U.S. control over half of the war-battered country’s natural resources.
The deal isn’t yet finalized, the Ukrainian leader told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday, saying that he needed time to study the draft and consult with European allies. But he indicated that the draft is acceptable, since it wouldn’t condemn Ukraine to being a “debtor” nation and some of the Trump team’s initial demands have been dropped.
“This deal may have a big success — or pass quietly,” Zelenskyy said. “The big success will depend on President Donald Trump.”
A Trump-Zelenskyy meeting could assuage the U.S. president, who lashed out at the Ukrainian leader this month as a “dictator,” as he rushed ahead with a plan to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to lock in a ceasefire.
Zelenskyy had made clear that he wanted a meeting with Trump before a U.S.-Russian summit took place.
