Key points
- US Treasury Secretary presented an economic partnership agreement to Zelenskiy
- President Trump has a plan to end this war: Scott Bessent
- Zelenskiy described the agreement as “a concrete step”
ISLAMABAD: Scott Bessent, the United States Treasury Secretary, presented an economic partnership agreement to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
It was done during his visit to Kyiv, which he said would be essential for continued support from President Donald Trump’s administration, according to Bloomberg.
“President Trump has a plan to end this war and we would like an economic cooperation agreement,” Bessent said.
“And in exchange for this agreement, the US will continue to provide material support for the Ukraine, for the people,” he further added.
With this visit, Scott Bessent became the first senior Trump administration official to visit Ukraine.
He arrived on Wednesday for talks on an agreement that would trade access to Ukrainian natural resources for continued military support.
“Concrete step”
According to Financial Times, Zelenskiy described the agreement as “a concrete step” and added economic ties should be part of the security guarantees Ukraine wants against Russia. “I am sure we’ll make the deal,” he said.
The Ukrainian officials to quickly examine the agreement before the Munich Security Conference, Zelenskiy said alongside Bessent. The conference in Munich starts Friday, with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio expected to attend.
Trump, speaking in the White House later on Wednesday, said Bessent was “going there to get a document done where we’re going to be assured that we’re going to, in some form, get this money back.”
Trump and Putin also, on Wednesday, agreed in a phone call to meet as part of negotiations to end the Ukraine war.
Earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Ukraine’s membership in NATO was unrealistic. Putin has constantly mentioned Ukraine’s membership in NATO would be unacceptable.
