Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the United States was a “tush push” away from agreeing to a mineral deal with Ukraine.
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Rubio shared his thoughts while speaking with Fox News, referring to the famous short-yardage play from the Philadelphia Eagles while discussing the deal.
“My last indication was that it was very close to the finish line. We were not even on the 1-yard line — we are like, at the half-yard line, you know?” Rubio said.
“It’s almost like when the Eagles push the quarterback across, you know, that tush push thing? So it’s close, and it’s good. It’s a good deal. It’s an important deal,” he said.
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House, according to the president.
During that meeting, it’s believed he will sign a deal for rights to Ukraine’s rare Earth minerals, valued at an estimated $500 billion.
Earlier this week, Ukraine’s Minister of Justice, Olga Stefanishyna, who is also the country’s deputy prime minister, said that the deal had “nearly all key details” finalized. She added that Kyiv was ready to sign it.
“We are committed to completing this swiftly to proceed with its signature,” Stafhishyna said.
Trump has said that the deal would be a means to recoup the billions of dollars worth of funding that was sent to Ukraine to assist the country in its war against Russia. The U.S. has been financially supporting the country almost since the invasion broke out three years ago.
“We want to get that money back,” Trump told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
The proposal was first brought forward earlier this month by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Zelensky rejected the first offer, but the deal was reworked, and Ukraine came back to the table.
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