The United States and Ukraine have finally signed an agreement for the exploitation of Ukrainian minerals. The Covenant, which the US Department of Treasury qualifies as an “economic collaboration”, gives Washington rights to exploit natural resources in the country at war. Among them are Ukrainian aluminum, graphite, oil and natural gas reserves. The signing of the document occurred this Wednesday, two months after the first public break between Volodimir Zelenski and Donald Trump, who rebuked the Ukrainian president shouting during his meeting in the Oval Office at the end of February.
Late in the afternoon, the Treasury Secretary, Scott Besent, announced the signing of the pact. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of President Donald Trump to guarantee a lasting peace, I am pleased to announce the signing of the historic economic collaboration agreement between the United States and Ukraine. This agreement establishes the investment fund for the reconstruction of the United States and Ukraine, with the aim of accelerating the economic recovery of Ukraine. Economic security is national security,” Besent said in a statement.
The agreement between the two countries, as detailed by the Treasury statement, aims to “work collaboratively and invest jointly to ensure that our common assets, talents and capabilities can accelerate the economic recovery of Ukraine”.
The Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yulia Svyrydenko, who flew on Washington on Wednesday to finalize the details of the agreement, also confirmed the signing of the text. “On behalf of the Ukraine Government, I signed the agreement for the establishment of an investment fund for reconstruction between the United States and Ukraine. Together with the United States, we are creating a fund that will attract global investments to our country,” Svydenko wrote in an X publication.
In the same publication, the minister explained the main points of the agreement, among which Ukraine “does not contract any mandatory debt with the United States.” Trump had required kyiv to sign an exploitation agreement as a counterpart to military support provided during the three years of war. In the first attempt to formalize the agreement, Washington intended that Ukraine recognized the shipments of weapons and other assistance as a debt, although Zelenski had already made it clear that he would not accept an agreement in those terms.
In addition, the Pact “complies with the Constitution and maintains the course of European Integration of Ukraine”, thus clearing the doubts about his future within the EU, after the US President affirmed that Ukraine should give up his aspiration to enter NATO to reach an agreement with Russia.
As explained by the minister, all land and sea resources will continue to be the property of Ukraine, and it will be “the Ukrainian State that determines what and how it is extracted.” Likewise, the agreement does not “alter privatization processes or affect state companies, which will continue to be Ukrainian.”
The joint investment fund between the United States and Ukraine, provided for in the initial draft, is structured with a 50/50 participation, and “none of the parties will have a dominant vote.” The Ukrainian minister explained that the fund will be financed “exclusively with new licenses.”
“Specifically, 50% of income from new licenses in the field of critical materials, oil and gas – generated after the creation of the fund – will be allocated to the fund.” The United States will contribute financially to the investment fund and, in addition to financing, it must provide new assistance, such as Air Defense Systems for Ukraine. Although this last point does not constitute a formal commitment of security guarantees, it does offer Zelenski a hope of continuing to receive military support.
The signing of the agreement arrives after the first 100 days of the Donald Trump government and a few days after Russia launched one of the most serious attacks on kyiv in recent months. It was then that the president published in Truth Social that he exclaimed: “Vladimir, Stop.” Trump thus took a distance from Putin and urged, once again, to end the war, although the pressure continues to fall on Ukraine: both the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the vice president, JD Vance, have warned that the United States will leave the negotiating table if a peace agreement is not closed soon.
The Secretary of the Treasury declared the following after the signing of the Agreement on the Minerals: “This agreement sends a clear message to Russia: the Trump administration is committed to a peace process focused on a free, sovereign and prosperous ukraine in the long term. (…) No state or individual who has financed or supplied the Russian war machine can benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.”
After the firm, the Parliament of Ukraine must approve it. According to him Financial Times, Many deputies, including some of the ruling party, have expressed concern and have said they will not vote in favor of a bad agreement.
Trump, who likes to breastfeed his skills as a negotiator, has expressed his frustration for the rhythm of conversations for the end of the war. In his approach to Vladimir Putin, he has seen in the Minerals a way to push Zelenski towards broader peace negotiations.
But why do Ukrainian resources interest Trump so much? Many look at China, who has declared the commercial war, and remember that the United States depends largely on it for the imports of the minerals it needs. 70% of the rare earths consumed Washington Post.
However, some experts have indicated that, given the logistics conditions on the land, it is unlikely that Ukrainian assets can reduce China dependence in the short and medium term.
Source: www.eldiario.es
