Ukraine official says minerals deal agreed with US

Ukraine has agreed on the terms of a minerals deal with the United States and could sign it as early as Friday on a trip to Washington by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a senior Ukrainian official said.

The deal would see the United States jointly develop Ukraine's mineral wealth, with revenues going to a newly created fund that would be "joint for Ukraine and America", a senior Ukrainian source told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity.

"Now government officials are working on the details... As of now, we are considering a visit to Washington on Friday to sign the agreement," the source added.

The Washington Post, which cited a Ukrainian official and another person familiar with the matter, said the deal was on "much better term" than those offered in an earlier proposal.

The White House has not yet confirmed the agreement, but earlier, it said it is "critical" that Zelenskyy sign a deal to share mineral and other natural resource revenues with the US amid ongoing negotiations.

Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters that President Donald Trump "expects President Zelenskyy to sign a deal," saying it would serve to pay the US back for past military and economic assistance provided to Kiev by the Biden administration.

"It's also great for the Ukrainian people, who have been put through hell because of this war, and it will create a lasting economic partnership, as Ukraine will need to rebuild their country because of this brutal war," she said.

Trump said on Monday that he expects to meet Zelenskyy at the White House as soon as this week to sign the agreement.

"The agreement's being worked on now. They're very close to a final deal. It'll be a deal with rare earths and various other things. And he would like to come, as I understand it, here to sign it. And that would be great with me. I think they'd then have to get it approved by the council or whoever might approve it, but I'm sure that will happen," he said.

'Trillions'

Ukraine has so far declined to sign the agreement as negotiations continue over major sticking points, including security guarantees for the country and whether the mineral rights would be exchanged solely for future US military aid or whether they would cover previous instalments that were given to Kiev by the Biden administration.

Ukraine is sitting on massive reserves of critical rare earth minerals that could total trillions of dollars. It holds about 5 percent of the world's total mineral resources, according to a 2024 World Economic Forum report.

Besides having one of the largest confirmed reserves of lithium, Ukraine boasts semiconductor-grade neon gas that is critical for chip production, beryllium, uranium, zirconium, apatite, iron ore and manganese.

US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who has rejected Ukraine's entry into NATO due to the alliance's mutual defence article, maintained that the US would defend any economic investment it makes in Ukraine's mineral resources.

"This could mean trillions, not only for the Ukrainian people, but for us and for stability for the region. And that economic investment is one of the best security guarantees that Ukraine could hope for," he said during a Monday morning interview with Fox News.

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Source: TRT