On April 30, the Ukrainian and American sides encountered “unexpected difficulties” in the process of signing a framework agreement on minerals.
This is reported by the Financial Times.
Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko traveled to Washington to sign agreements with the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. According to sources, the problems began during her flight: the US Treasury chiefʼs team told Svyrydenko that she "should be ready to sign all the documents or go home".
Anonymous Ukrainian officials told the FT that Washington is insisting that Kyiv sign not only a framework agreement but also a detailed document on an investment fund that will finalize all agreements on minerals — all this as early as Wednesday.
According to a US source, the talks were not concluded because Ukraine wanted to revise the terms agreed upon over the weekend. American officials were reportedly concerned that the move would reduce transparency and accountability. However, the agreement could still be signed on Wednesday if Ukraine returns to the original terms, the source said.
The Ukrainian side denied this version. They say they cannot sign both documents on April 30 because the agreement on the fund must first be ratified by parliament. A participant in the negotiations noted that he was disappointed with the actions of the United States.
“We are worried that they will not be satisfied with anything. We are ready to sign a framework agreement today. The chances of this are only 50/50,” a source tells the Financial Times.
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 United States 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 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.
- The day before, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal confirmed that Kyiv could sign an agreement with the US on minerals within the next 24 hours.
- On April 27, an official said that Kyiv had agreed not to count United States aid in the subsoil deal.
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