The Speaker of Ukraine's Parliament says that the Ukrainian government will start working in earnest from the beginning of next week to conclude an agreement on earth minerals and security assurances with the US administration of President Donald Trump.



Ruslan Stefanchuk, who is close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spoke with NHK in the country's capital Kyiv on Friday.



He said Zelenskyy had proposed to the United States to jointly develop Ukraine's earth minerals as part of his "victory plan" last September.



Stefanchuk said that following Zelenskyy's meeting with US special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, the Ukrainian government will have an expert team start from Monday working toward signing an agreement with the United States.



He said Ukraine is ready to work with partners on the country's earth minerals but wants to receive specific security guarantees, indicating that rights and interests should come with them.



Stefanchuk said his country intends to have constructive discussions, and that it aims to have a summit with the United States as soon as possible.



Regarding Trump's comment that Ukraine needs to hold a presidential election, Stefanchuk said Ukraine's laws clearly state that no elections can be held during martial law.



He said it would be impossible to hold fair elections while Russia's invasion is continuing, as the military will not be able to participate.



Stefanchuk said to end the war Russia needs to not only withdraw from Ukraine's territory and return its land, but also be brought to justice and made to pay reparations to all those who suffered during the war.