President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Wednesday that the outlines of an economic deal involving rare earth minerals has been reached between the two countries, as the U.S. president continues to pursue the brokering of an agreement between Ukraine and Russia to end their three-year war.

The Wall Street Journal reported that specific details of the deal have yet to be worked out, including security guarantees for Ukraine. But one clause of the agreement states that the U.S. “supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace.”

“This deal is part of our broader arrangements with the United States,” stated Zelensky. “This deal can be part of future security guarantees.”

The agreement calls for the creation of a co-owned fund involving rights for the U.S. to mine rare earth minerals in Ukraine such as graphite and lithium (critical for the manufacture of batteries) as well as titanium. It also “sets out the terms and conditions of an investment fund for the rebuilding of Ukraine.”

Zelensky will reportedly travel to the U.S. on Friday for further discussions with Trump over the proposed deal. “This agreement can have a major success or quietly pass by,” Zelensky remarked. “And I believe that a major success depends on our conversation with President Trump.” 

Lawmakers like Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are expressing optimism at a prospective deal that could be both economically beneficial for the U.S. and could help strengthen security within Ukraine.

“President Trump is the only guy I know of that can end this war honorably and justly,” he contended during Tuesday’s “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins.” “There have been hundreds of thousands of people killed and injured on both sides. Putin invaded Ukraine, I think, for a couple of reasons. Ukraine is the richest country on the continent of Europe when it comes to critical minerals — about $7 trillion. That’s why Putin wants to take Ukraine, for the money. He wants to reconstruct the old Soviet Union, Russian Empire. Those are ambitions he has.”

Graham continued, “… Ukraine is literally the richest country in Europe. They’re sitting on trillions of dollars worth of critical minerals. If President Trump can pull this off, doing a deal with Ukraine and the United States regarding partnering in the critical minerals space, that gives us something to defend. We’ll have an economic interest we’ve never had before. It makes Ukraine very valuable. The goal is to make sure we don’t have a third invasion. Now, how do you avoid that? If we have economic interest in Ukraine, it makes it less likely Russia will invade because they’d be hitting American companies. We need to keep helping the Ukraine militarily by … selling them — not giving them — weapons. They’re the most lethal army on the continent of Europe, and I want to make them stronger over the next decade by buying American weapons, which is good for our economy.”

Graham further suggested that Ukraine’s admittance to NATO, which has historically been a serious point of contention for Russian President Vladimir Putin, could paradoxically be determined by Russia. “President Trump is going to get a good deal for Ukraine, but he’s not out to humiliate Putin [by] putting Ukraine in NATO,” he argued. “… My idea is if [Russia] ever invade[s] Ukraine again, … Ukraine automatically goes into NATO. Let Russia decide if Ukraine is in NATO and let it be a tripwire.”

Graham went on to predict that in order for a peace deal to be reached between Ukraine and Russia, Ukraine will likely have to give up part of its territory that Russia invaded and is now occupying.

“[T]here will be eventually some kind of land swap here [to] stop the fighting, get a ceasefire and do a deal that prevents a third invasion,” he surmised. “Ukraine will decide what they can accept, and there will be a negotiation, and the only way you’re going to get a successful outcome is if Russia does not invade again, and they’re deterred. I don’t know how the land swap will wind up ending, but there will probably be one. My goal is to make sure that Ukraine is a sovereign, independent, democratic nation when this war is over and that China will be less likely to invade Taiwan.”

However, other Republicans like Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) insist that a peace deal must require all of Ukraine’s territory taken forcibly by Russia to be returned, especially in light of Zelensky’s offer to resign earlier this week “if [it guarantees] peace for Ukraine.”

“I think that’s a huge act of sacrifice on his part and on behalf of his country,” Perry asserted during Tuesday’s “Washington Watch.” “That having been said, I would modify that deal. If I were President Trump, I would say, ‘Look, if Zelensky is willing to step aside, Ukraine’s original territory must be restored.’ And Russia cannot be involved at all in the election of the next president of Ukraine.”

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins concurred, further maintaining that restoring Ukraine’s original borders will help deter hostile actors around the globe from attempting similar unprovoked invasions like Russia’s. “[W]e should not reward behavior like Putin’s invading another sovereign nation. I think that could be … an invitation to China to take Taiwan. … That would be like giving Hamas and the Palestinians … their so-called ‘two-state solution’ after their invasion of Israel. We don’t want to reward that type of behavior.”