US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to visit Ukraine for talks with Zelensky

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to visit Ukraine this week to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky as part of US efforts to resolve the war and secure access to vital minerals. Bessent will be the first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to visit the country. The envoy arrives in Kyiv days after Trump said his administration wants to make a deal with Ukraine on access to resources in exchange for help defending it from Russian invasion, reported by the Bloomberg.

Zelensky offered a willingness to make a deal

“I am sending Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Ukraine to meet with President Zelensky,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. “This war must end soon — too much death and destruction. The US has spent billions of dollars all over the world, but has shown little.” Earlier on Monday, Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv that he planned to meet with “serious people” from the Trump administration in Ukraine ahead of the Munich Security Conference, which begins on Friday.

Zelensky offered a willingness to make a deal that would provide more U.S. support in exchange for some of Ukraine’s rare earths and other minerals. “If we’re talking about a deal, let’s make a deal, we’re all for it,” he said. Ukraine has significant reserves of uranium and several key minerals, including titanium, lithium and graphite. The government in Kyiv estimates their value at trillions of dollars.

Seeks Minerals in Exchange for Ukraine Aid

Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, said Sunday that the future of aid to Ukraine would be discussed this week. “We need to offset those costs, and that will be a partnership with the Ukrainians on their rare earths, their natural resources, their oil and gas, and buying ours,” Waltz said.

Trump’s top envoy for Ukraine and Russia, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, plans to present Trump with options for ending the war in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter said. Kellogg plans to get information from officials at the Munich Security Conference and during visits to Kyiv and other European capitals, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans are not public.