US President Donald Trump anticipates the final agreement will be finalized next week.
According to a high-ranking official in Kiev, the US and Ukraine have initialed a preliminary agreement concerning rare-earth minerals. The US sees this potential agreement as a way to recoup funds spent on aid to Kiev during its conflict with Moscow, and it could be formally signed as soon as next week.
The announcement was made on Friday by Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, Yulia Sviridenko.
“We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine,” she stated.
However, the minister did not provide specific details about the document or the funding sources for the investment fund.
Sviridenko described the document as “the result of the professional work of the negotiating teams” during last week’s discussions. “We continue to work on the Agreement itself. There is a lot to do, but the current pace and significant progress give reason to expect that the document will be very beneficial for both countries,” she added.
Trump indicated the final resource agreement could be signed as early as next week, stating, “We have a minerals deal which I guess is going to be signed … next Thursday. And I assume they’re going to live up to the deal. So we’ll see. But we have a deal on that.”
Washington and Kiev have been in discussions for several weeks regarding a deal that would grant the US access to Ukraine’s rare-earth mineral deposits. The Trump administration maintains that the agreement should be used to compensate the US for previous aid provided to Ukraine. However, Kiev has asserted that the US assistance was unconditional.
Earlier in the week, Bloomberg reported that the US had reduced its assessment of aid to Kiev from over $300 billion to approximately $100 billion, but still views the minerals deal as a way to recover financial losses. Sources told the agency that the Trump administration has also been hesitant to commit to future investments in the joint fund, which has been a key priority for Kiev.
The two sides were initially scheduled to sign an agreement in late February, with a ceremony planned during Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s visit to the White House. However, the event resulted in a public dispute, with Trump accusing Zelensky of disrespecting the US and not being grateful for the aid provided to Ukraine. Trump also stated Zelensky was reluctant to seek peace with Russia and was “gambling with World War III.”
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