WASHINGTON, April 24, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US Treasury chief Scott Bessent told Ukraine's prime minister during a meeting in Washington on Wednesday that the two countries should sign a key resource extraction deal "as soon as possible."

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal was on a visit to the United States aimed at sealing by Saturday a deal that would give the United States royalty payments on profits from Ukrainian mining of resources and rare minerals.

US President Donald Trump wants the deal as compensation for aid given to Ukraine by his predecessor, Joe Biden, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

However, a clash between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in February derailed work on the agreement.

Bessent told Shmyhal on Wednesday there was a "need to conclude technical talks and sign the economic partnership between the United States and Ukraine as soon as possible," according to a brief Treasury readout.

Bessent called talks between the two sides "highly productive," according to the readout.

The United States has pressured Ukraine for weeks to accept a peace deal that could force Kiev to cede some of its territory that Russia now occupies.

Washington has threatened to walk away from peace negotiations if Russia and Ukraine do not reach an agreement soon.

Trump said on Wednesday he believed Russia had agreed to their part of the peace deal, hours before Moscow launched a missile attack on Kyiv early on Thursday morning.