NEW YORK, April 2. /TASS/. Work on a rare-earths deal between the US and Ukraine is still going on, US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg told Fox Business.
The deal would benefit both countries, according to the official.
"We put a lot of money into this [conflict] for Ukraine, and there's got to be a way we can get some of that back, and that's through the precious metals deal we're talking about, established by Scott Bessent," he said.
Kellogg indicated that the deal should get a blessing from the Ukrainian legislature.
"I think that process has started and it's going to continue. And I think everybody needs to sit back and watch the process roll, because it's going to happen," he said.
US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that Vladimir Zelensky was trying to renegotiate the minerals deal. Sergey Leshchenko, an adviser in Zelensky's office, said Ukraine could only sign the version of the agreement that was finalized in late February, without any supplements on nuclear power plants.
Earlier, Washington said following a phone call between Trump and Zelensky that the US could help Ukraine with the operation of its nuclear power plants. The statement said that US ownership of the plants would provide the best protection for them.