According to several media reports, the US and Ukraine have agreed on the terms of a mineral agreement that was central to Kyiv’s efforts to win Washington’s support in its three-year-old war with Russia as President Donald Trump seeks a quick end to the war and that could be signed as early as this week, on Tuesday, the 25th of February, reports Politico.
US President Donald Trump indicated on Tuesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could travel to Washington this week to sign the deal, telling reporters: “I heard he’s coming on Friday. Of course, I agree if he wants to.”
“We have indeed agreed on it with a number of good amendments and we consider it a positive result,” a Ukrainian official told the BBC, without giving further details.
The Ukrainian newspaper Economic Pravda quoted a version of the 24th of February deal, which envisaged that
Kyiv would pay 50% of the revenues from the state-owned natural resources into a “Reconstruction Investment Fund”, which would invest in Ukraine.
Notably, the agreement does not include the American security guarantees for Ukraine, which Kyiv reportedly insisted on, or the continuation of arms supplies, but states that the US wants Ukraine to be “free, sovereign and secure”.
However, it also fails to mention the 500 billion US dollars that Trump demanded as compensation for Washington’s support for Kyiv to defend itself against Moscow’s invasion.
Asked what Ukraine would get in return for the deal, Trump pointed to US aid already delivered, as well as “a lot of… military equipment and the right to fight on”.
Asked how long the US would continue to supply arms to Kyiv, Trump replied: “It could go on for some time, and maybe until we have an agreement with Russia.”
Zelenskyy had earlier refused to sign two draft agreements proposed by the Trump administration, saying their terms – which, as the New York Times reported, included Kyiv giving up 500 billion US dollars in mineral, oil and gas revenues, as well as income from ports and other infrastructure – were too harsh.
“I will not sign something that will have to be repaid by ten more generations of Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference on Sunday.
But Trump insisted on Monday that a “final deal” was “very close” and that it would include “rare earths and various other things”.
Ukraine has huge deposits of critical elements and minerals ranging from lithium to titanium, which are crucial for the production of advanced technologies and are highly sought after in the global scramble for resources.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russia has many mineral deposits and is ready to strike deals to develop them, after President Vladimir Putin pointed to the possibility of such cooperation with the US by offering minerals in Russia and in Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine.
The European Union also offered Ukraine its own “win-win” arrangement for “key materials”.