Ukraine has agreed to take over revenues from some of its mineral resources to the United States, according to Americans and Ukrainian officials on Tuesday in a deal following a fierce pressure campaign from President Trump, including insults and threats. I stated.
The final terms of the transaction were unknown, and it was not immediately clear what Ukraine would ultimately receive after a few days of difficult and sometimes tense negotiations. With the Russian war in its fourth year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly sought security assurances in exchange for mineral rights.
Previous draft agreements reviewed by The New York Times did not include such security commitments. Trump has moved his American alliance with Ukraine to a naked, commercial foothold, claiming he wants to “recover” his past military aid to Kiev.
According to American officials, the final translation of the contract was sent to Ukraine on Tuesday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent and his Ukrainian counterparts said they are expected to sign the agreement first. Zelensky is expected to go to Washington to sign up with Trump. American and Ukrainian officials insisted on speaking anonymously to explain the private negotiations.
Speaking from his Washington oval office on Tuesday afternoon, Trump said of Zelensky: “I've heard he's coming on Friday. Certainly, if he wants to, it's fine for me. And he wants to sign with me. And I think that's a big deal. , I think it's a very big deal.”
Zelensky is coming up for several days to directly decide on an agreement with Trump. However, Ukrainian leaders demand other provisions that Ukraine deemed unacceptable as Trump had demanded $500 billion worth of mineral rights due to a lack of certain US security guarantees. Because of this, they rejected at least one draft agreement of the contract.
Ukrainians have become accustomed to this deal in the past few days after Americans have removed some of the more troublesome situations.
The final terms of the transaction are not clear, but the draft agreement discussed on Tuesday no longer includes a request for Ukraine to donate $500 billion to a US-owned fund. It also did not include Ukraine's request to repay the United States twice as much as future American aid. This is a demand compared to Zelensky's long-term debt imposition on Ukraine.
Instead, the draft agreement said Ukraine would contribute half of its revenue from future monetization of natural resources, including key minerals, oil and gas. The United States owns the greatest financial interests to funds permitted under American law, but not all. And the fund is designed to reinvest some income in Ukraine.
The United States is also committed to supporting Ukraine's future economic development.
As Russia seized benefits on the battlefield, debate over mineral rights took place. Trump also formed an alliance with President Vladimir V. Putin, encouraging Zelensky.
Trump called the Ukrainian president a “dictator” and mistakenly said that Ukraine began the war, despite the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.
He told Mr Zelensky to sign the deal. In response, Zelensky said Trump was trapped in the “disinformation bubble” in Russia.
The deal, which is testament to Trump's approach to diplomacy, follows a similar move by the US president, and puts pressure on allies such as Canada and Colombia to comply with or at least negotiate his demands. It is leveraging the economic power of the United States.
Critics say the previous draft deal did not take into account the cost of living that Ukraine is already paying for the wider security of Europe – beating Russia's first invasion and Russian military at the NATO border A year of fierce battles by smashing the tectonic beings west and the Moscow army on three.
Zelensky raised the idea of ​​resource trading last fall, providing more incentives for US military support. However, he balked the conditions presented by the Trump administration when Bescent visited Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, on February 12th.
“I have not signed that 10 generations of Ukrainians have to pay back,” he told the news conference. Still, the Ukrainian leaders admitted that in the end there might be little choice.
“If we're forced and we can't do it without it, then we should probably do it,” he said.
The White House argued that even without a specific security guarantee, the mere presence of American economic interests on Ukraine would thwart future Russian invasions.
“What would be better for Ukraine than joining an economic partnership with the US?” US national security adviser Mike Waltz said last week.
