"Washington has softened its demands." Ukraine gives green light to key deal with the US

Ukraine has agreed to sign a minerals deal with the United States after Washington softened its most stringent demands, the Financial Times has learned. The journalists also obtained detailed records of the agreement, revealing what concessions both sides made.

Negotiations on a deal on minerals, including rare earths, that Washington is demanding from Kiev have been ongoing for several weeks. On Monday, US President Donald Trump said the agreement was "very close" to being finalized and could be signed "this week or next week."

On Tuesday, a senior Ukrainian official also confirmed the agreement's terms in an interview with AFP. The Financial Times reports that the breakthrough in the talks came because the American side dropped its claims to $500 billion in potential revenue from resource development.

Moreover, Ukrainian officials told the FT that in its current form the agreement contains " significantly more favourable terms " and its signing would mean expanded cooperation with the US.

Journalists also found out the final form of this agreement, which is dated February 24. It assumes the creation of a special fund , to which Ukraine would pay 50 percent of the revenues from the "future monetization" of state mineral resources, including oil and gas, and related logistics. These funds would later be used to finance projects in Ukraine.

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However, it does not include mineral resources that already contribute to the Ukrainian state treasury, which means that it will not cover the current operations of the largest Ukrainian gas and oil producers - Naftogaz or Ukrnafta.

The agreement, however, omits any reference to U.S. security guarantees that Kiev had originally insisted on in exchange for its agreement to the deal. It also leaves key questions, such as the size of the U.S. stake in the fund and the terms of the “co-ownership” transaction, to be agreed in subsequent agreements.

According to Ukrainian officials, the agreement was approved by the ministers of justice, economy and foreign affairs and they confirm that it can be signed by Volodymyr Zelensky when he goes to meet with Trump at the White House.

"It will be an opportunity for the president to discuss the bigger picture . And then we can think about the next steps," one of the officials told the FT.

SEE: Duda's eloquent reaction. Question about Ukraine's minerals

The daily's sources, however, emphasize that the agreement is merely "framework" and no revenue will change hands until the fund is launched, which will give them time to resolve any potential disagreements.

Zelensky's government will also have to obtain the consent of the Ukrainian parliament . "And the deputies have already signaled that the document will require at least a heated debate before it is ratified," the "FT" reports.