President Donald Trump says Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Friday to sign a long-sought minerals deal that will closely tie the two countries together for years to

Trump has framed the emerging deal that would give the US access to Ukraine’s deposits of rare earth minerals as a chance for Kyiv to pay back the US for aid already sent.

The U.S. and Ukraine are near a deal to hand valuable mineral rights to the U.S., an agreement the Trump administration has sought as compensation for military aid to fight off Russia’s invasion, people familiar with the matter said.