US and Ukraine may sign rare earth agreement next week – US Treasury Secretary
Photo: Scott Bessent, US Treasury Secretary (Getty Images)
The US has prepared a comprehensive minerals agreement for Ukraine, which could be signed next week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated this on Fox News.
"We have passed along a completed document for the economic partnership (that) is currently being reviewed by Ukrainians, and we hope to go to full discussions and perhaps even get signatures next week," he said.
According to Bessent, the initial draft of the agreement that Ukraine and the US could have signed at the end of February was four pages long. However, Washington took the opportunity to "move toward a finalized agreement."
"So I am sure that we will move along and get this signed quickly," the Treasury Secretary added.
Rare earth agreement
Ukraine and the US had planned to sign a framework agreement on rare earths on February 28. After that, the two countries intended to conclude another agreement that would be "more substantial" and include details of cooperation in the mineral resources sector.
However, things did not go as planned. The framework agreement was not signed on February 28 due to a dispute between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump at the White House.
Meanwhile, yesterday, on March 25, Zelenskyy stated that Washington had proposed a new subsoil agreement to Kyiv. According to the president, it is a comprehensive agreement that must be ratified by the Rada.
