Free Republic

On Thursday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) stated that the minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine appears positive and he appreciates President Donald Trump changing his approach.Merkley said, “Well, what I really like is it creates a partnership between the Trump administration and Ukraine, which is such an improvement from where we’d been, where Trump was essentially mimicking or mouthing all of the talking points that Putin wanted him to mouth. And it does have elements that we’ve heard about that sound good. It’s not demanding that Ukraine repay us for the aid that we’ve...

The United States and Ukraine have signed an agreement over access to Ukraine’s natural resources, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. The deal will provide the US privileged access to new investment projects to develop Ukraine’s natural resources, including aluminum, graphite, oil and natural gas, Bloomberg reported.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that previous aid provided by the US to his country will not be included in the minerals deal being negotiated between Kyiv and Washington. “Agreements have been reached that the document does not include assistance provided before its signing,” Shmyhal said in a statement on Telegram late Sunday, summarizing his delegation’s visit to the US to conduct discussions on the document. Expressing that he held an “important” meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during his visit, Shmyhal said that their legal teams are working on the document and are making “good progress.” “The...

U.S. Vice President JD Vance put down President Volodymyr Zelensky after he dismissed the effectiveness of American diplomacy, forcefully telling the Ukrainian he was acting without respect. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the White House on Friday for talks with President Donald Trump and, it is thought, to sign the much-discussed minerals deal. As is customary, Trump and his senior colleagues sat down with Zelensky in the oval office with press cameras present for a brief discussion before the real talks would begin in private, but a beligerent attitude from Zelensky derailed proceedings before they even began. Responding to...