The government of Ukraine has announced the signing of the outline of a mineral agreement between the country torn apart by the war and the United States.
The Minister of the Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko, said that the memorandum of understanding has paved the way for what it called an economic partnership agreement.
She said that a final agreement would also involve an investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine. US officials have expressed hope that an agreement could be completed by the end of next week.
Donald Trump’s public cries match with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in February had temporarily exploded the negotiations.
Svyrydenko announced the signature of the memorandum on X but did not provide more details.
Her article included photos of the secretary of the Treasury and the United States, Scott Bessent, the signature separately.
“We are pleased to announce the signature, with our American partners, of a protocol of intention, which opens the way to an economic partnership agreement and the creation of the investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine,” wrote Svyrydenko.
The signature was led on an online call with Bessent who said that the details of the agreement were still being developed.
“This is considerably what we had agreed before. When the president (Volodymyr Zelensky) was here, we had a memorandum of understanding. We went directly to the big deal, and I think it is an 80-page agreement and that is what we will report,” he said.
Donald Trump also referred to the agreement at a press conference with the Italian leader Giorgia Meloni.
“We have a mineral agreement which, I suppose, will be signed on Thursday … next Thursday. Soon. And I suppose they will be up to the agreement. We will see. But we have an agreement on this subject,” he said.
The White House did not respond to a request for more details on the calendar and the content of the agreement, reports the news agency Reuters.
This decision is a step towards an agreement that would allow the United States to access the critical minerals of Ukraine, as well as oil and gas.
Previous reports indicate that an “investment fund” would be set up for the reconstruction of Ukraine and would be managed by kyiv and Washington in “equal terms”.
President Volodymyr Zelensky hoped to use the agreement to obtain an American security guarantee in his country in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.
However, the plan was derailed in February by Zelensky and Trump’s animated shock in the White House.
