Ukraine and US reach agreement on mineral exploration. Zelensky goes to the US to sign the document with Trump
After several weeks of negotiations, the United States and Ukraine have reached an agreement on the exploration of minerals and rare earths on Ukrainian territory, and the document is expected to be signed later this week. The news was initially reported by the Financial Times and later confirmed by the US President to journalists. While signing executive orders, Trump confirmed that the agreement was “pretty much negotiated” and even revealed that Zelensky would visit Washington to sign it on Friday.
According to the final version of the agreement seen by the Financial Times, the agreement establishes an investment fund in Ukraine to which Kiev would contribute 50% of the revenues from mineral resources jointly explored by Ukrainians and Americans . A source in the presidential office cited by the Kyiv Independent newspaper revealed that Kiev said that the US side would have greater decision-making power and the fund would be used to make investments in the Ukrainian economy.
The idea for the deal was originally floated by the US president himself, according to Trump, to compensate for money sent by the US to aid the Ukrainian war effort. The White House's first proposal, however, met with a strong "no" from Ukraine, demanding a right to potential profits worth around 475 billion euros ($500 billion).
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In the final version, dated February 24, 2025, the text of the agreement demonstrates the existence of US concessions in relation to the first proposal rejected by Kiev, removing the aforementioned clause that gave the US the potential profits.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Financial Times explains, only the profits from these joint explorations will count towards the accounts of this investment fund, thus leaving out the explorations that the Ukrainian state already has, through the public companies Ukrnafta (for oil) and Naftogaz (for natural gas).
In addition to the financial details, there are still doubts as to whether the final text of the agreement mentions security guarantees for Ukraine, a measure that was one of Kiev's main demands in order to agree to hand over its rare earths to the US. According to the Financial Times, the agreement makes no reference to this measure. This information was also reported by the online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, which also claims that Kiev was unable to obtain a written commitment from the US to continue providing military support to Ukraine in exchange for the economic benefits provided for in the agreement.
However, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the terms of the agreement include a reference to security but do not explicitly mention the role of the United States. “This is a general clause that says the US will invest in a sovereign, stable and prosperous Ukraine, that it will work for lasting peace and that the US will support efforts to ensure security ,” he said.
One of the clauses in the final agreement prohibits the transfer of money from the fund to third parties without the consent of both countries. However, little else is known about the document, with details remaining on how the US share in the investment fund will be defined and how joint ownership of natural resource explorations will be structured.
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Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna told the Financial Times that the US had said during negotiations that the deal was part of “a bigger picture.” In the same report, a Ukrainian official said that Zelensky’s visit to the US could help understand what that “bigger picture” was. Zelensky did not comment on the matter.
Back at the White House, when asked what benefits this agreement would bring to Ukraine, Trump responded that it would give them “military equipment and the right to continue fighting.”
The US president called the Ukrainians “very brave” and “very good soldiers”, but claimed that “without the United States, its money and its military equipment, this war would have ended in a very short space of time”.
And he confessed that he does not want to stop here in the exploration of natural resources in other countries, pointing to Moscow. “ I would also like to buy minerals in Russian territory, if we can. They have very good rare earths too”, he declared, arguing that it would be a business “very good for Russia too”.
observador
