Washington is ready to sign a minerals agreement with Kyiv, but Ukraine "decided to make changes at the last minute."
This was stated by the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
"We are confident they will review this issue, and we are prepared to sign today if they do," the official said.
Subsequently, a source for Suspilne in the Presidentʼs Office told that Ukraine did not propose amendments to the draft intergovernmental agreement on subsoil.
The interlocutor added that a meeting of the Ukrainian and American delegations for discussion will take place soon. Kyiv is ready to sign the main document within the framework of the agreements, a media source claims.
The Financial Times previously reported that on April 30, the parties encountered "unexpected difficulties" in the process of signing a framework agreement on rare earth resources.
Anonymous Ukrainian officials told the FT that Washington is insisting that Kyiv sign not only a framework agreement but also a detailed document on the investment fund. Ukraine cannot do this because the fund arrangements must be ratified by parliament.
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. 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.
- The day before, Ukrainian Prime Minister 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.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.