White House official: If Zelenskiy says minerals deal isn’t finalized, invitation to meet Trump may not make sense

Farmers in the U.S. plan to plant more corn and fewer soybeans this spring than they did last year, hoping to eke out a profit and shield themselves from U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs, growers and analysts said.

"If the Ukrainian leader says the deal isn’t finalized, I don’t see why an invitation would make sense," the official told Reuters. "There’s an expectation that his coming is to recognize a final position (on the minerals deal) and he is not at a final position in his own words in this new wording."

The official said Zelenskiy's latest comments from Kyiv suggest the minerals deal is not completed.

Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that he had reached a "preliminary" deal with the U.S. on minerals.

Trump on Tuesday told reporters he had heard Zelenskiy was coming to the White House on Friday with the expectation that the minerals deal would be signed. He did not say Zelenskiy had been formally invited.