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US and Ukraine sign long-awaited natural resources agreement

2025-05-01 08:09:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The US has signed an agreement with Kiev to share profits from the upcoming sale of Ukraine's mineral reserves, after months of tense negotiations.

The two countries have agreed to create a reconstruction investment fund to boost Ukraine's economic recovery from the war with Russia.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it showed both sides were committed to lasting peace and prosperity in Ukraine. For Kiev, the agreement is seen as essential for access to US military aid.

Ukraine is believed to have large reserves of critical minerals such as graphite, titanium and lithium. They are in high demand for their use in renewable energy, military technology and industrial infrastructure.

The deal comes amid a US trade war with China, which supplies 90% of the world's current reserves of rare metals.

According to a statement from the US Treasury on Wednesday afternoon, the newly created US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund recognizes the "significant financial and material support" that the US has provided to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

The US Treasury Secretary said in a video statement that the deal would help "unlock Ukraine's growth assets."

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who flew to Washington to sign the agreement on Wednesday, said in a post on X that the new fund will "attract global investment to our country."

Listing the provisions of the agreement, she said it would include projects in minerals, oil and gas, although the resources would remain the property of Ukraine.

The partnership will be equal, on a 50:50 basis, she added, and must be ratified by lawmakers in Kiev.

Under the agreement, the US will contribute new aid to Kiev, she added, including, for example, air defense systems.

The language of the announcement shows much more solidarity with Ukraine than is typical for the Trump administration.

He refers to "Russia's full-scale invasion" and adds that "no state or person that financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine."

The Kremlin has not yet responded to the agreement.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted on the agreement as a precondition for providing Kiev with any future security guarantees.

The main point is that the draft agreement indicates that Ukraine will give Washington access to some of its natural resources in exchange for future security assistance from the US.

But this is significantly less than what Trump wanted, which was to take back all US military aid given since the beginning of the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has managed to secure some concessions from Washington.

The deal was postponed after US authorities said Kiev was trying to make last-minute changes./ CNA