USA and Ukraine likely to agree details on raw materials deal

Kiev. After days of dispute over a raw materials deal, Ukraine and the USA have now agreed on the details of a contract, according to media reports. There is no official confirmation of this yet. The internet portal of "Ukrajinska Prawda" in Kiev reported that there is a new agreement on US access to raw materials in the country attacked by Russia in return for aid from Washington. The media outlet has therefore seen a draft of a contract. In addition to the rare earths that are important for high-tech products, the agreement also concerns US access to Ukrainian oil and gas.

There had been fierce controversy over the agreement in recent days because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had initially refused to sign it.

US President Donald Trump had insisted on a deal as compensation for Washington's aid in Ukraine's defense against the Russian war of aggression. The British "Financial Times" also reported on an agreement between the two sides. According to the reports, the version supposedly ready for signature no longer mentions security guarantees from the USA. Ukraine had recently repeatedly insisted on this.

According to the information, the United States will not have 100 percent control over a planned investment fund for reconstruction, into which the revenues from the extraction of natural resources are to flow. Instead, the fund is to be managed jointly by the United States and Ukraine, according to the reports. It will receive 50 percent of the revenues from the sale of raw materials and the ports and other infrastructure important for the handling of natural resources.

Like the "Ukrajinska Pravda", the "Financial Times" also reported that the fund would not receive as much money from Ukraine until the sum of 500 billion US dollars was reached. According to the report, Washington gave in here and distanced itself from the toughest demands that Zelensky had criticized. Kiev had negotiated favorable conditions for itself, it was said.

According to the agreement, the fund is intended to finance projects in Ukraine. It is separate from the revenue from the sale of raw materials, which already flows into the state budget. The agreement should also not contradict other international agreements between Ukraine - for example with the European Union.

It is unclear who will sign the contract. According to Ukrainian media, Kyiv's Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha and his US counterpart Marco Rubio are being considered for the contract. The Financial Times, on the other hand, reported that Zelensky would sign the agreement at a meeting with Trump. A date has not yet been announced. Details of how the future fund will work also need to be clarified, it said.

RND/dpa