Free trade area and minerals deal: Ukraine's PM reveals details of talks with Bessent
Photo: Denys Shmyhal and Scott Bessent (t.me/Denys_Smyhal)
Ukraine and the United States have agreed to start working on a free trade area between the countries. A minerals deal was also discussed, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced this on Telegram.
During his visit to Washington, Shmyhal thanked US President Donald Trump for extending sanctions against Russia.
"We need to increase sanctions pressure on the aggressor to force it into peace. In particular, we discussed tightening sanctions on Russia's energy sector due to the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," Shmyhal wrote.
He shared that during a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, they discussed financial assistance to Ukraine for the next year.
"The government of Ukraine undoubtedly supports the signing of an economic partnership agreement between the American and Ukrainian peoples and the creation of a reconstruction investment fund. Our negotiating teams continue active work, as outlined in the signed memorandum. The negotiating groups will report on progress by April 26 this year," the Prime Minister stated.
According to him, important political aspects of the future document were discussed.
"I also emphasized that the agreement, under Ukrainian law, must be ratified by the Verkhovna Rada. We agreed to start work on a free trade area between Ukraine and the US," Shmyhal stressed.
Shmyhal's visit to the US
Today, representatives of the Ukrainian government traveled to Washington to seek financial support for Ukraine for the next year. The Ukrainian delegation was led by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
It was also reported that Shmyhal's visit to the US is connected with a future agreement between the US and Ukraine regarding Ukrainian mineral resources.
Discussion of the minerals deal
Recently, Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed a memorandum regarding the agreement. The document stated that Shmyhal was to visit Washington this week and meet with Bessent to “provide high-level support for completing the technical discussions on the terms of the agreement.”
US President Donald Trump also expressed his expectations that the minerals deal with Ukraine would be signed. He stated that the document could be signed as early as April 24.
