Kremlin awaits confirmation of US-Ukraine minerals deal

Moscow, Russia (AFP) February 26 - The Kremlin said Wednesday that it was still waiting for official confirmation the United States and Ukraine had agreed on the terms of a landmark minerals deal.

US President Donald Trump had demanded Ukraine give access to its strategic minerals to compensate for the billions of dollars of military and other aid it received under Joe Biden.

A senior Ukrainian official told AFP late Tuesday that Kyiv had agreed on the framework of the deal, and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could sign it on Friday in Washington.

(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on February 25, 2025 shows US President Donald Trump (L) on February 24, 2025, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) on February 23, 2025.

Ukraine has agreed on the terms of a minerals deal with the United States and could sign it February 28, 2025, the two countries said, a move Kyiv hopes will lead to future security guarantees from Washington. The Ukrainian source said President Volodymyr Zelensky could sign the deal on a trip to Washington as early as February 28, 2025, -- a timetable confirmed by Trump. (Photo by Jim WATSON and Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)

"So far there are no official statements on this matter. We have only heard that Zelensky seemed to be going to Washington on Friday," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"There will probably be attempts to make this visit somewhat substantive," he added.

Ukraine hopes the deal will improve relations with the Trump administration, which have soured amid a war of words between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Kyiv also wants security guarantees, though the current draft of the deal does not place any specific security commitments on the United States, according to a senior Ukrainian official.

Moscow has also touted the possibility of US investment in strategic minerals found in Russia and in parts of Ukraine under the control of Russian troops.

Kremlin hails 'balanced' US position on Ukraine after UN vote

Moscow, Russia (AFP) February 25 - The Kremlin on Tuesday praised Washington's "balanced position" after the US voted with Russia at the United Nations to avoid condemnation of Moscow's campaign against Ukraine.

The United States sided with Russia in two votes in New York on Monday, signalling a seismic shift as US president Donald Trump stakes out a drastically new position on Ukraine.

"The US is taking a much more balanced position which is really aimed at trying to resolve the Ukraine conflict. We welcome this," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov said comments from European leaders "do not signal balance", adding: "But, perhaps, as a result of contacts between the Europeans and the Americans, somehow Europe will gravitate towards greater balance".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting of Russian President and Armenian Prime Minister at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 25, 2023. (Photo by Ilya PITALEV / SPUTNIK / AFP)

On the third anniversary of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, Washington and Moscow aligned first at a Monday morning vote at the General Assembly and again at an afternoon vote of the Security Council.

A European-backed text got 93 votes for at the General Assembly and 18 votes against, with 65 abstentions.

Washington sided with Moscow and Russian allies Belarus, North Korea and Sudan to vote against the text.

The resolution -- which won far less support compared to previous ones on the war -- strongly criticises Russia, and emphasises Ukraine's territorial integrity and the inviolability of its borders.

Washington drafted a rival resolution amid an intensifying feud between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

But Ukraine's European allies pushed to heavily reword the US text to say that the "full-scale invasion of Ukraine" had been carried out by Russia, meaning Washington ultimately did not vote in favour of its own text.

Undeterred, the United States brought the earlier, unchanged text to a vote at the Security Council in the afternoon, securing its passage with 10 votes for and none against -- alongside five abstentions.

The abstentions were France, Britain, Denmark, Greece, and Slovenia.