Ukraine says pact signed with US is first step towards minerals deal
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressing a press conference in Kyiv on April 17.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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KYIV/WASHINGTON – Ukraine said on April 17 that Kyiv and Washington had signed a memorandum as an initial step towards clinching an agreement on developing mineral resources in Ukraine, a deal promoted by US President Donald Trump.
Although both had been poised in February to sign a deal for cooperation on natural resources, it was delayed after an Oval Office meeting between Mr Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky turned into a shouting match.
“We are happy to announce the signing with our American partners,” said Ms Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister and economy minister, on social media after the signing.
The April 17 memorandum of intent paves the way for an economic partnership deal and the setting up of an investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine, she added.
The signing comes after officials in Kyiv worked to repair ties following the Oval Office episode, recognising that Ukraine needs US support in its war with Russia, which mounted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The minerals deal is part of that effort, officials in Ukraine have said.
Mr Trump said the accord itself could be signed next week, though the Ukrainian side gave no indication of when it expected to conclude the full deal.
A Ukrainian delegation travelled to Washington at the end of last week for negotiations after the Trump administration offered a new, more expansive deal. The initial framework agreement that was agreed to has never been signed.
Mr Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said: “We have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday”, referring to April 24.
Mr Trump has pushed for a compact that would allow the US to have privileged access to Ukraine’s natural resources and critical minerals in what he casts as repayment for military aid provided by Washington
Sitting alongside Mr Trump in the Oval Office on April 17, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “we’re still working on the details” and that the signing could come by April 25.
“It’s substantially what we’d agreed on previously,” he said. “When the President was here, we had a memorandum of understanding. We went straight to the big deal, and I think it’s an 80-page agreement, and that’s what we’ll be signing.”
The White House did not respond to a request for further details on the timing and contents of the agreement.
Mr Zelensky had said earlier that the two countries could sign the memorandum online later in the day.
“This is a memorandum of intent. And we have positive, constructive intentions,” he told reporters in Kyiv.
He added that the offer to sign the memorandum before the comprehensive deal, which would require ratification in the Ukrainian Parliament, had come from the US side.
Ms Svyrydenko earlier said that Kyiv and Washington had made significant progress while discussing the agreement, and the memorandum was the first stage to record this. REUTERS
