The United States and Ukraine are expected to sign a mineral framework agreement as soon as this week after Kiev said it had received a major concession from the Trump administration, namely not taking past military aid into consideration.

After U.S. President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky's public disagreement in the Oval Office in February, the signing ceremony for an early mineral agreement was cancelled.The latest progress marks an important step. After that dispute, Trump insisted that the billions of dollars of US military aid in the past should be considered loans, repaid through agreements. Zelensky rejected the offer.

"It has been agreed that the aid provided before the agreement is signed will not be included in the agreement." A senior Ukrainian official saidThis could pave the way for the signing of the framework agreement this week。

Breakthrough occurs when Trump meets Zelensky at the Vatican last weekendAfterwards, the U.S. president described it as a "good meeting" and praised the Ukrainian leader for "doing a good job."

"I think he's calmer. I think he understands the situation and I think he wants to make a deal."

In recent days, Trump has also expressed deep frustration to both Ukraine and Russia, and he believes that the warring sides are unwilling to make concessions to end.The biggest conflict in Europe in 80 years. "I'm very disappointed with Russia launching missiles...I hope he stops shooting and sits down and signs the deal," Trump told reporters on Sunday, which was a rare criticism of Russian President Putin. Earlier, some critics attacked Trump's criticism and pressure on Kiev than on Moscow.

Trump has always viewed the so-called mineral agreement—to jointly develop Ukraine’s rare earths and other natural resources—as a way to recover billions of dollars of military aid provided by the Biden administration to Kiev, and to use it to pressure Zelensky to promote wider peace talks.

The pressure offensive of the United States has been obvious, which had appeared a few days before the Oval Office dispute in February this year. Treasury Secretary Besent visited Kiev and asked Zelensky to sign the initial framework agreement in front of him, and the meeting eventually turned into a quarrel.

Last Sunday, Smehar said he held "important talks" with Becente to finalize the final details. "The legal team is working on documents. We have made good progress," he said, adding,Ukraine has clearly defined its "red line"。

Senior Ukrainian officials have previously revealed that the U.S. demands to use mineral agreement proceeds to repay past military aid could undermine their national sovereignty, potentially undermine Ukraine's efforts to join the EU and will not be approved by the country's parliament.

Many Ukrainian MPs, including some of Zelensky's ruling party, expressed concerns about the mineral deal and said they would not vote for a bad deal.

Senior Ukrainian officials pointed out thatThe finalized framework agreement applies to all mineral resources throughout Ukraine, including oil andnatural gas, and major energy assets.

"The agreement must comply with European commitments and must not conflict with the Ukrainian constitution and laws."New agreement hopes to address Kyiv's concerns。

Kiev and Washington signed a memorandum of intent earlier this month pledged to advance the agreement on part of the investment fund in the agreement on natural resources and energy assets on Ukraine.

The negotiations were so sensitive that Zelens earlier ordered an investigation into the leaks of previous U.S. proposals, including a lie test of government officials. U.S. National Security Advisor Walz said in an interview last Sunday that he believes the agreement "will be reached." "The negotiator has been working hard over the weekend," he said, addingTrump "decided to make this happen"。