Ukraine’s PM says agreement is ‘good, equal and beneficial’, hopes it will be signed ‘within the next 24 hours’.
Ukraine is poised to sign a much-anticipated minerals deal with the United State, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal has said, as both sides finalised details.
The agreement would see Washington and Kyiv jointly develop Ukraine’s mineral resources, an arrangement US President Donald Trump has called “money back” for the wartime aid it has received from the United States.
“This is truly a good, equal and beneficial international agreement on joint investments in the development and recovery of Ukraine,” Shmygal said on national TV on Wednesday.
“I hope that the agreement will be signed in the near future, within the next 24 hours, and we will take the first step,” he added.
There was no immediate comment from Washington.
Ukraine and the US had planned to sign the agreement weeks ago, but a fiery clash between Trump and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House temporarily derailed talks.
Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from the White House, said, “It seems there are still some details to work out. But the signing of that deal is expected within the next 24 hours”.
Joint fund
Ukraine has been pushing for security guarantees as part of any deal to halt Russia’s three-year invasion.
The Trump administration has argued that boosting US business interests in Ukraine will help deter Russia from future aggression in the event of a ceasefire.
It was not clear if the deal included any security guarantees for Ukraine.
The deal will not be linked to any “debts” for previous assistance Kyiv has received, and will create a “50/50” joint fund split between Kyiv and Washington, a senior source in the Ukrainian presidency said, as cited by the AFP news agency.
“It ensures the equality of the parties. An investment fund will be created to invest in reconstruction. It is envisaged that there will be contributions from us and the United States,” it added.
When Washington provides new military aid, it will be counted as their contribution to the joint fund, the Reuters news agency reported, citing a draft of the agreement.
However, the draft does not spell out how the joint fund’s revenues will be spent, who benefits, or who controls decisions about the spending.
According to the draft, the United States, or other entities it designates, will get preferential – but not exclusive – access to new permits, licences and investment opportunities in the field of Ukrainian natural resources, according to the draft. Existing deals are not covered.
Previous iterations of the deal during negotiations had said that it would include Ukrainian natural gas infrastructure, which is one of Ukraine’s most valuable assets, sources with knowledge of the matter said earlier this month.
Gas infrastructure was not covered by the draft cited by Reuters on Wednesday.
