Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Washington Friday amid negotiations that would give the U.S. access to the eastern European country’s rare earth minerals.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, President Trump said he heard that Mr. Zelenskyy would be visiting on Friday, saying “certainly it’s OK with me if he’d like to.”

Mr. Trump has been chasing Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as a way to pay the U.S. back for the money it has spent on aid to help Ukraine in its war with Russia.

“Without the United States and its money and its military equipment, this war would have been over in a very short period of time,” Mr. Trump said.

A framework of a deal has reportedly been reached between the U.S. and Ukraine for minerals, according to Ukrainian officials.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.