Ukraine has agreed to provide the income from some of its mineral resources in the United States, an American official and an Ukrainian official said on Tuesday in an agreement following President Trump’s intense campaign who included insults and threats.
The last terms of the agreement were unknown, and it was not immediately clear what, if necessary, Ukraine would finally receive after days of difficult, sometimes tense negotiations. President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine, had put pressure on several occasions for security guarantees for his country in exchange for mineral rights, while the Russian war entered its fourth year.
The previous projects of agreements examined by the New York Times have included such a security commitment. Mr. Trump had insisted He wanted to “recover” For military aid prior to kyiv, move the American alliance with Ukraine to an unknown base.
A final project translated from the agreement was sent to Ukraine on Tuesday, according to the American official. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and his Ukrainian counterpart said the American official, should first sign the agreement, then Mr. Zelensky should go to Washington for a signature with Mr. Trump. American and Ukrainian officials insisted to speak anonymously to describe private negotiations.
Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Trump, Speaking of the Washington Oval OfficeSaid about Mr. Zelensky: “I hear that he arrives on Friday. Admittedly, it suits me if he wanted it. And he would like to sign it with me. And I understand that it is a big problem, very serious.
Mr. Zelensky has been pressure for days to finalize any agreement with Mr. Trump in person. But the Ukrainian chief had rejected at least another project from an agreement because he lacked specific American security guarantees and because Mr. Trump asked for mineral rights worth $ 500 billion, as well as Other provisions that Ukraine considered unacceptable.
The Ukrainians have become more comfortable with the agreement in recent days after the Americans have removed some of the most expensive conditions.
Although the latest terms of the agreement are not clear, a draft contract discussed on Tuesday no longer understood the demand that Ukraine contributes $ 500 billion to a fund belonging to the United States. Nor did it include a request that Ukraine reimburses the United States twice as much as the amount of all the US assistance future – a request that Mr. Zelensky compared to impose long -term debt on ‘Ukraine.
Instead, the draft agreement said that Ukraine would contribute to a half funds of its income from the future monetization of natural resources, including critical minerals, oil and gas. The United States would hold maximum financial interest in the fund authorized by American law, but not necessarily all. And the fund would be designed to reinvest certain income in Ukraine.
The United States would also undertake to support the future economic development of Ukraine.
Discussions on mineral rights have taken place while Russia has grasped the advantage on the battlefield. Trump also aligned himself with President Vladimir V. Poutine while excoring Mr. Zelensky.
Trump described the Ukrainian president as “dictator” and wrongly said that Ukraine had launched the war, although the conflict began with the large -scale invasion of Russia in February 2022.
He pushed Mr. Zelensky to sign an agreement, saying that he “would better move quickly or that he will not make him a country”. In response, Mr. Zelensky said Trump was trapped in a “Russian disinformation bubble”.
Testimony of Mr. Trump’s transactional approach to Foreign Affairs, the agreement follows similar movements by the American president to take advantage of the economic power of the United States by putting pressure on allies like Canada and Colombia for Comply, or at least negotiate on your requests.
Critics say that a previous project of the agreement has not taken into account the cost of living that Ukraine has already paid for the broader safety of Europe – by beating the initial invasion of Russia , preventing a Russian military presence at the borders of NATO further west and by crushing the Moscow army over three years of ferocious fighting.
Zelensky launched the idea of ​​a resource agreement last fall to encourage more American military support. But he fell on the terms presented by the Trump administration when Mr. Bessent went to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, February 12.
“I do not report something that 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to reimburse,” he said at a press conference. However, the Ukrainian leader admitted that he could ultimately have little choice.
“If we are forced and we cannot do without it, then we should probably go,” he said in the middle of the intensive pressure.
The White House argued that even without specific security guarantees, the simple presence of American economic interests in Ukraine would dissuade future Russian aggression.
“What could you have for Ukraine than being in economic partnership with the United States?” Mike Waltz, US National Security Advisor, said last week.
