KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine will ship a group to Washington this week to start negotiations on a brand new draft of a deal that might give the U.S. entry to Ukraine’s worthwhile mineral sources, Financial system Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko instructed The Related Press.
“The new draft agreement from the U.S. shows that the intention to create a fund or jointly invest remains,” Svyrydenko stated Saturday throughout a visit to northern Ukraine.
The delegation from Kyiv will embrace representatives from the Ministries of Financial system, International Affairs, Justice and Finance.
The long-running negotiations over a mineral deal have already strained relations between Kyiv and Washington. The 2 sides had been getting ready in February to signal a framework settlement, however the plan was derailed following a contentious assembly within the Oval Workplace between U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
After some Ukrainian lawmakers leaked the brand new draft, critics slammed it as little greater than an try to strip Kyiv of management over its personal pure sources and infrastructure. In keeping with the leaked doc, the brand new draft contains not solely rare-earth minerals however fuel and oil.
Ukraine holds vital deposits of greater than 20 minerals deemed strategically vital by the U.S., together with titanium, which is used to make plane wings; lithium, key to a number of battery applied sciences; and uranium, utilized in nuclear energy.
Regardless of the disruption following the Oval Workplace assembly, Ukrainian officers confirmed curiosity in signing the framework deal at any time, seeing it as an necessary step to win Trump’s favor and to shore up U.S. backing within the battle in opposition to Russia’s invasion.
After weeks of silence on the standing of the deal, the U.S. despatched a brand new draft to Kyiv that goes additional than the unique framework.
Svyrydenko stated Ukraine’s job now could be to assemble a technical group for negotiations and to outline its crimson traces and core rules.
