“Ukraine and the United States have made “substantial progress” in their discussions for an agreement on the exploitation of Ukrainian minerals and will sign a memorandum in the near future, said Wednesday Deputy Prime Minister Iulia Svîrîdenko, as reported by Reuters.
American President Donald Trump wants a bilateral agreement on minerals as part of his efforts to end the war. Trump also sees it as a way to recoup the billions of dollars the US spent on military assistance to Ukraine. However, President Volodimir Zelenski stated that Ukraine will not acknowledge past American military aid as a loan.
“Our technical teams have worked very thoroughly on the agreement and there is significant progress. Our legal staff has made adjustments to several elements of the draft agreement,” stated Svîrîdenko in a post on X.
Svîrîdenko said that activities related to the agreement will continue and that both parties have agreed to sign a memorandum in the near term, as a first step to mark the progress.
The United States has reduced its estimated costs for aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022 to around 100 billion dollars, from 300 billion dollars, as reported by Bloomberg News on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Last month, the Trump administration proposed a new, more comprehensive agreement on minerals that does not provide security guarantees for Ukraine’s future, but requires it to place all revenues from the exploitation of natural resources by state and private enterprises on Ukrainian territory into a common investment fund.
The future agreement will require ratification in the Ukrainian parliament and is expected to contribute to economic growth in both countries, stated Svîrîdenko, but did not offer further details. “It will create opportunities for investment and development in Ukraine and establish conditions for tangible economic growth for both Ukraine and the United States,” she said.”