Ukraine, USA Prepare the framework agreement on critical access of rare minerals

Ukraine and the United States have prepared a draft in accordance with the access to kyiv deposits of rare earth minerals and a joint investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine, kyiv officials said Wednesday.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, directed the media reports this week that had reached a preliminary agreement that would see the United States and Ukraine jointly develop the mineral resources of Ukraine, including oil and gas.

When describing the draft agreement as a “framework agreement,” Zelenskyy told reporters that the agreement included the intention of creating a joint investment fund with the United States, in which Ukraine would contribute to 50% of all income obtained from The future monetization of its natural resources assets. .

The fund will invest in projects related to the reconstruction and infrastructure of Ukraine. Zelenskyy said that an agreement on security guarantees would continue separately.

The president, who spoke with journalists in kyiv on Wednesday, said he had been invited to the US on Friday, but that a final decision had not been made, NBC News reported.

The reports of the previous media suggested that an agreement had been reached between the two countries with the Financial Times, that the agreement first reported on TuesdayInforming that the United States had eliminated the demands of a right to $ 500 billion in potential revenues of the agreement. That has not been confirmed by Ukraine.

President of the United States Donald Trump He also confirmed that there was progress with respect to an agreement, which has not yet been signed.

“I heard that (there is an agreement), I hear that on Friday of (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy)” He told journalists at the Oval office Tuesday.

“It certainly is fine for me if he would like, and he would like to sign him with me. And I understand that it is a big problem, a big problem,” he added. “They are rare earths and other things,” Trump said, without giving more details.

Trump said the agreement offered kyiv billions of dollars to help and “many military teams and teams and the right to fight, and originally, the right to fight.”

CNBC has communicated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the United States Department of State to obtain more comments.

“As of today, this agreement is called ‘Agreement to establish the rules and conditions of the Investment Fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine’. This is a preliminary agreement that will have legal force. According to the comments reported by the RBC-UKRAINE news agency.

“The preamble of the agreement establishes very clearly that taking into account the desire of the American people to invest with Ukraine in a free, sovereign and safe state, this is the beginning of the agreement. I am directly citing the text and this is important for us to understand the purpose of the agreement.

Yuriy Sak, an advisor to the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine, said Wednesday that “the presidents will probably meet on Friday” and “will end the agreement”, which described as a starting point for greater cooperation and economic investment.

“It will be a framework agreement and will be part of the broader negotiation process,” he told CNBC.

“Of course, it will not be an agreement that will thoroughly decide all the problems, but it will be, I repeat, a Marco Agreement, which will then be part of the process that will be extended in the future,” he said.

It is not clear how much the mineral wealth within Ukraine is, although a Ukrainian official of the Ministry of Economy said the weekend that natural resources are valued worth $ 350 billion in territories occupied by Russian, The Kyiv Independent reported Sunday.

According to the reports, the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Olha Stefanishyna, directed negotiations between Washington and kyiv in the mineral agreement and told the FT on Tuesday that “we have heard several times from the US administration that is part of a broader image.”

“Ukraine, I will say that they are very brave, and they are good soldiers, but without the United States and their money and their military team, this war would have ended in a very short time,” Trump added on Tuesday.

“We really don’t know any final information about the deal. We actually listen to everything from the media,” he told CNBC. “Street signs” On Wednesday.

“I must say that it is very worrying because it seems tensions, mood goes in an emotional direction, while we really need very rational solutions for our security, for our economy and, in general, for our international cooperation,” he said.

“I must say that it does not mean that we are against an agreement, we are a professional agreement if there are security guarantees,” he added.

The leadership of Ukraine has had a sustained pressure to sign an agreement with the United States since the inauguration of President Trump in January. Initially, the president proposed that kyiv should grant 50% of the property of 50% of its rare earth minerals as a reward for the military aid he has given to Ukraine. Trump has also previously stated in an interview that an agreement would give access to the United States to $ 500 billion in rare earth minerals and that this would be the recovery of the aid already received by Kyiv.

The president of Ukraine, Zelenskyy, played the amount of help in times of war that the United States has given to Ukraine, which puts the figure in around $ 100 billion. Independent analysis by The Kiel Institute for the World Economy puts the amount of American support committed to Ukraine at 114.2 billion eurosor $ 119.5 billion.

“From Trump, I want to understand what Ukraine can obtain, as well as the security guarantees and the contingent after the stage of the war ends,” Zelenskyy told Ukraine: forum of the year 2025 on Sunday, on the eve of the third anniversary of the invasion of Russia. of Ukraine.

“An agreement must win for US companies and the people of Ukraine,” he added, in comments translated by NBC News. “I am not signing something that 10 generations of Ukrainians will pay.”

“On (the) $ 500 billion. We are going to deal with the figure first. I know we had $ 100 billion. That is a fact. I will not recognize $ 500 billion … the second thing, to be honest, I am Sincere not even ready to fix 100 billion.

Zelenskyy had also noticed that any assistance that Ukraine was still receiving was a legacy of the previous US administration under Joe Biden, and added that “as for I understand, the agreement is that there is a condition for a new assistance.”

In comments separated last week, Zelenskyy said he couldn’t “sell” his country and that an initial proposal of the United States had not offered Ukraine that security guarantees that he was looking for.

The Ukrainian leader According to reports, last week he ordered his ministers not to sign any agreement, saying the proposal that had been presented I was too focused on the interests of the United States and offered Ukraine very little in return.