Zelenskyy promoted the US-Crain mineral trade as a key result of the conference, urging Ukrainian lawmakers to ratify it quickly.
Ukrainian President Voldymi Zelensky said on Friday that a meeting with President Donald Trump at the Vatican a week ago was the “most substantial” they have ever held.
Speaking to reporters in Kiev on May 2, Zelensky said that the encounter with Trump, which took place on the sidelines at Pope Francis’ funeral on April 26, showed a change in tone and substance between the two leaders.
Zelenskyy added that the meeting, held in a private one-on-one format within St. Peter Basilica, had sweeped through the diplomatic procedures by creating “a proper atmosphere for real dialogue.”
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Zelenskyy said the newly signed mineral trade that grants US businesses priority access to Ukraine’s rare earth and strategic mineral deposits is the first concrete result of the Vatican Conference and is a sign of what happens afterwards.
“In fact, this was the first concrete outcome of that Vatican meeting, and it really makes it historic,” he said.
Under the terms of the contract, the Joint Supervisory Board, which is split equally between Ukraine and American representatives, oversees new investment funds designed to support post-war reconstruction, industrial development and defence infrastructure.
Zelenskyy urged Ukrainian lawmakers of Verkhovna Rada to ratify the agreement quickly. The structure reflects a “truly equal partnership” that strengthens Ukraine’s sovereignty while generating economic benefits from both countries.
“The methodology of how we contribute to this will change in that we are not mediators,” she said. “We certainly are committed to it and help everything we can, but we don’t fly around the world wearing hats to mediate meetings.
“It’s time they need to present and develop specific ideas on how this conflict will end,” she added. “It’s going to be them.”
Trump has shown that Kiev is likely to need to make territorial concessions as part of the peace deal.
