Following what’s understood to be an intense pressure campaign from United States President Donald Trump, including insults and threats, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has agreed to hand over revenue from some of the war-fatigued nation’s mineral resources to the United States.
The final terms of the deal are yet to be disclosed. However, previous draft agreements viewed by The New York Times did not include any corresponding security agreement as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its fourth year.
While the U.S. is expected to sign the final translated draft of the agreement sent to Ukraine on Tuesday, Zelenskyy is expected to put his signature on the document during his upcoming visit to the White House.
It’s understood that Zelenskyy rejected previous drafts of the agreement on two key grounds.
First, it lacks specific U.S. security guarantees. The White House argued that even without security guarantees, U.S. economic interests in Ukraine would be sufficient to keep Russian aggression at bay.
Secondly, while Zelenskyy initially proposed the idea of a resources deal with the U.S. last year, he has dismissed as unacceptable Trump’s requests for mineral rights worth $500 billion, along with other provisions.
“I am not signing something that 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to repay," he told a news conference.
While it no longer includes the demand for Ukraine to contribute $500 billion to the U.S.-owned fund, the draft agreement expects Ukraine to contribute to the fund half of its revenues from the future monetisation of natural resources, including critical minerals, oil and gas.
While the U.S. would control the lion’s share of the fund's financial interest, it would be designed to reinvest some revenue back into Ukraine. However, the U.S. has made no commitments to supporting Ukraine’s future economic development.
Meanwhile, Russia’s consolidated position on the battlefield coincides with a closer alignment between Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
In recent rhetoric Trump has referred to the Ukraine President as a “dictator” and accused the country of igniting the war with Russia.
More to come…
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