Representatives of Ukraine and the United States held the first round of consultations on a new version of the agreement on Ukrainian subsoil.
This was reported by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha at a press conference with his Lithuanian counterpart Kęstutis Budrys in Kyiv, RBC-Ukraine and Interfax report.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a new text of the minerals agreement from the American side on March 28 through diplomatic channels.
According to Sybiha, Ukraine is determined to develop a document that will meet the national interests of both countries.
"We believe that the text of the agreement, which will provide for the further increased presence of big American business, is also a contribution to Ukraineʼs security infrastructure," the minister added.
The United States is proposing a new deal on Ukrainian minerals, as well as oil and gas, without offering security guarantees in return. The Financial Times, which has seen the draft agreement, writes that Washington is aggressively expanding its demands. Kyiv believes that this could undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, divert profits abroad and deepen the country’s dependence on the United States. However, Kyiv will ask to change the agreement, demanding in return increased American investment.
The US President Donald Trump has already threatened Zelensky with "big problems" if he abandons the subsoil deal.
What preceded
The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brought a pilot draft of a minerals agreement to Ukraine on February 12. Washington hoped that Kyiv would sign it immediately. However, President Zelensky said that he had banned the signing of the agreement because it would not protect Ukraine’s interests — it had no connection to investments, profits, or security guarantees. After that, they began to refine it.
The final agreement was supposed to be signed on February 28, during Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs visit to the White House. However, then Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president had a falling out — the Ukrainian delegation left the White House early. The document was not signed. However, both sides stated that negotiations on the agreement were ongoing.
After that, CBS News wrote that Trump is pushing for a “bigger, better deal” with Ukraine on rare earths. The publication’s sources noted that the version of the agreement that was brought to the United States is not final — some of its points may change.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.