Ukraine-US minerals deal: Bloomberg learns whom Kyiv will send to Washington
Photo: Kyiv to send officials to technical talks (Getty Images)
Ukrainian officials will visit the US to negotiate a new agreement. It will regulate post-war plans to develop mineral deposits and rebuild infrastructure, Bloomberg reports.
The delegation will include Ukraine's deputy economy and justice ministers, but not top-level politicians. Negotiations with President Donald Trump's administration require technical advice at this stage, said two officials, who asked not to be identified because the talks are not public.
Kyiv has also appointed an international law firm to advise on the talks, they said.
The visit is scheduled for April 11-12, the sources added. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed the visit would take place but declined to provide further details. The Economy Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Deal terms
According to Bloomberg, Kyiv is looking for better terms in a pending deal with Washington that could require the war-torn country to hand over half of future revenues from a large part of its economy to the United States. Trump and US officials see the deal as compensation for the tens of billions of dollars in aid given to Ukraine by former President Joe Biden after Russia's full-scale invasion.
But Ukraine refuses to recognize this aid as a debt. Kyiv wants more US investment as part of a profit-sharing agreement and is also concerned that the deal and the privileges it would grant the US could complicate its EU membership bid.
Kyiv is teetering on the edge of refraining from any harsh public criticism of Washington or Trump, while trying to maintain waning US support for its long struggle against Russia's invasion.
The upcoming visit of the Ukrainian delegation follows online talks between Washington and Kyiv in late March. These talks took place after the US sent a draft agreement it wants to sign with Kyiv.
Ukraine's talks with the US on the investment agreement coincided with peace talks mediated by the Trump team in Saudi Arabia, although these efforts seem to have lost some momentum. While Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a temporary partial ceasefire on energy infrastructure, airstrikes continue, with the latest Russian strikes killing at least 20 civilians in the city of Kryvyi Rih.
Deal history
In March, Washington handed Kyiv a new draft agreement on Ukraine's natural resources. According to The Washington Post, the draft looks like Ukraine was at war with the United States, lost, was captured, and now has to pay lifetime reparations.
At the end of February, the Ukrainian government approved the text of a framework agreement on the creation of a joint investment fund to transfer revenues from Ukraine's natural resources. The Cabinet of Ministers authorized either First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko or Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to sign the agreement.
The agreement was to be signed during President Zelenskyy's visit to the United States on February 28. However, his meeting with US President Donald Trump ended in a scandal, after which Zelenskyy left the White House without a signed agreement.
The Ukrainian government has since reiterated its readiness to sign the agreement.
