The Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal confirmed that Kyiv could sign a minerals agreement with the US within the next 24 hours.
He said this on the air of the telethon "United News".
The Ukrainian side is currently finalizing the "final details" with its American colleagues. The politician noted that the agreements between the governments are equal.
"In the near future, I hope, within the next 24 hours, the agreement will be signed, and we will receive the first step. This agreement will be followed by the signing of two more technical agreements, executive ones, directly on the creation of the fund, [its] financing and replenishment," said Shmyhal.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Economy Minister Yulia Svirydenko had already traveled to Washington to sign the agreement. According to the agency, the following points were agreed upon in the agreement:
- The United States and Ukraine plan to promote investment in mining, energy, and related technologies in Ukraine;
- The US recognizes that the agreement should not contradict Ukraineʼs plans to join the EU;
- The United Statesʼ contribution to the special fund will only include future military assistance, not that already provided.
Regarding the latter, Denys Shmyhal previously said that Kyiv agreed not to include in the subsoil agreement the assistance to Washington that it received before signing.
What is known about the US-Ukraine subsoil agreement?
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 be able to protect Ukraine’s interests — there is no connection to investments, profits, and security guarantees. After that, it began to be finalized.
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.
The US is now 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. In Kyiv, it is believed that this could undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, divert profits abroad and deepen the country’s dependence on the US. However, Kyiv will ask to change the agreement, demanding in return increased American investment. Trump has already threatened Zelensky with “big problems” if he abandons the subsoil deal.
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