Ukraine and the US are close to signing an agreement under which Washington will receive a share of the revenues from Ukraine’s natural resources, The New York Times reports. US President Donald Trump stated that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy could visit the White House as early as this or next week to sign the agreement on natural

The U.S. and Ukraine are closing in on minerals agreement worth hundreds of billions of dollars under which the U.S. would express its desire to keep Ukraine "free, sovereign and secure," according to a draft obtained by Axios.

The Ukrainian leader said considering aid as a debt to be repaid would be a “Pandora's box” that would set a precedent requiring Kyiv to reimburse all its backers.

The surprise US vote comes after Trump decided to start direct talks with Russia to end the war, shocking Ukraine and its allies in Europe by not including them in the initial discussions last week. V

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia was not opposed to Europe's involvement in Russia-U.S. peace talks aimed at settling the conflict in Ukraine, but noted that Brussels had long rejected any dialogue with Moscow.