A minerals deal between Ukraine and the United States could finally be signed as early as Wednesday after weeks of intense negotiations that at times turned bitter and temporarily derailed Washington’s aid to Ukraine. A source familiar with the matter told CNN that Ukraine is expecting to sign the natural resources deal on Wednesday. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told Ukrainian television that the country’s economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko was on her way to Washington. “We are finalising the last details with our American colleagues. As soon as all the final details have been finalised, I hope that the agreement will be signed in the near future, within the next 24 hours,” Shmyhal told the Ukrainian Telemarathon.

Ukraine is poised to sign a landmark mineral resources agreement with the United States in Washington on Wednesday, according to two senior Ukrainian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is currently in Washington for the final coordination of the agreement’s technical details, the sources said. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the Trump administration, which has pressed for the agreement to be signed, also was ready to ink the deal. Trump has said that he wants Ukraine’s rare earth elements as a condition of further support in its more than three-year war with Russia.

There was no immediate word from the White House on whether the deal would be made official on Wednesday. The Post has reached out for comment. One of the Ukrainian officials expressed hope, though, that there would be no changes from the US side. The development would mark a major step in the drawn-out agreement process after a signing ceremony for an earlier version of the deal was axed when President Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, got into a heated Oval Office spat. Negotiations, which have been contentious at times, have continued steadily since then.