Ukraine and US agree on terms for critical minerals – FT
Photo: Olha Stefanishyna (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine and the United States have agreed on the terms of a deal on rare earth metals. Kyiv aims to improve relations with the Trump administration, according to the Financial Times.
According to the agency, Ukrainian officials said Kyiv is ready to sign an agreement on joint development of its mineral resources, including oil and gas. They claimed to have secured significantly better terms for Ukraine and presented the deal as a way to expand ties with the US to strengthen the country’s future after three years of war.
Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olha Stefanishyna, told the Financial Times on Tuesday that the minerals deal was only part of the picture and that the US administration had repeatedly indicated it was part of a broad picture.
The final draft of the agreement, dated February 24 and obtained by FT, outlines the creation of a fund to which Ukraine will allocate 50% of revenues from the future monetization of state-owned mineral resources, including oil, gas, and related logistics. The fund will invest in projects within Ukraine.
However, it does not include mineral resources that already contribute to Ukraine’s state budget, meaning it will not cover the operations of Naftogaz or Ukrnafta, the country’s largest oil and gas producers.
Notably, the deal contains no references to US security guarantees, which Kyiv had initially sought in exchange for its approval. Additionally, key issues such as the US stake in the fund and terms of joint ownership agreements still need to be settled in subsequent agreements.
Ukrainian officials said the deal has been approved by the justice, economy, and foreign ministers. They also confirmed that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to the White House in the coming weeks for a signing ceremony with US President Donald Trump.
One official said it would be an opportunity for the President to discuss the broader picture and that further steps could be considered afterward.
Ukraine-US agreement
The US proposed a rare earth metals deal to Ukraine, which included the creation of a $500 billion fund granting Washington economic and managerial rights. Donald Trump viewed this as a way to compensate for American aid. However, Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that the total support amounted to $100 billion and should not be considered debt.
Earlier, US officials suggested that Ukraine and the US were expected to sign the resource agreement last week.
However, according to Sky News, Zelenskyy is not ready to sign the deal due to "problematic issues."
