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Translated by: Ideal Zhubi
- April 16, 2025 18:28 am
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Ukraine and the United States (US) have made "substantial progress" in talks on a minerals agreement and are expected to sign a memorandum in the near future, Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Wednesday.
"Our technical teams have been working tirelessly on the agreement and there has been tremendous progress. Our legal staff has adjusted several elements within the draft agreement," Svyrydenko wrote on the social network X.
US President Donald Trump is seeking a bilateral deal with Ukraine on rare earth minerals as part of his push to end the war. He also sees the deal as a way, he says, to pay back billions of dollars in US military aid to Kiev, Reuters reports.
Last month, the Trump administration proposed a new and broader minerals agreement, which offers Ukraine no security guarantees but requires it to place all revenues from the exploitation of natural resources by state and private enterprises throughout Ukrainian territory within a joint investment fund.
The United States has reduced aid to Ukraine since Russia's large-scale invasion in 2022, from $300 billion to about $100 billion, sources close to the media outlet Bloomberg report.
