Trump greets Ukraine’s Zelenskyy at White House

US President Donald Trump welcomed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House on Friday to sign a rare-minerals deal and talk about ending the war with Russia.

Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart that a truce with Russia is “fairly close” and that the deal allowing US exploitation of Ukraine’s natural resources would be “very fair.”

The deal would give the United States access to rare-earth and other critical minerals as part of an overall plan to help Ukraine recover after a truce in the war with Russia

Zelenskyy said he was hopeful the document would be a step forward for Ukraine.

The potentially tense meeting comes after a week-long diplomatic dance that has also seen the leaders of France and Britain come to the White House to persuade Trump not to abandon Kyiv.

Zelenskyy told Trump there should be “no compromises” with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the parties negotiate to end the war after Moscow’s invasion

Showing Trump pictures of war atrocities at a White House meeting, Zelenskyy said there should be “no compromises with a killer on our territory.” He also added that “I think President Trump is on our side.”