Photo: EPA/UPG
The United States and Ukraine are on the verge of signing a strategic agreement that will give the US side access to Ukrainian mineral resources. Steve Witkoff, the US President’s Special Representative for the Middle East, expressed confidence that the signing would take place next week.
In an interview with CNN, Whitkoff noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously been indecisive about the deal. However, after a direct appeal from US President Donald Trump, the situation changed. According to Whitkoff, Zelenskyy realised the importance of the agreement and the need to sign it.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told The Wall Street Journal that the current version of the agreement does not include military guarantees for Ukraine. Instead, the document includes US commitments to actively invest in the country’s economic development, which Bessent called “economic security guarantees”.
The main purpose of the agreement is to compensate the US for the significant funds provided to Ukraine as aid. Whitkoff stressed that the US expects Ukraine to reimburse these costs through economic cooperation in the field of mineral extraction(Reuters).
Earlier, President Zelenskyy expressed concern about some of the terms of the deal. According to Bloomberg, the Ukrainian side insisted on including security guarantees and more favourable terms for the return of $500 billion to be offset by mineral supplies. However, the current version of the agreement does not contain such guarantees.
The final round of talks is expected to take place in the coming days, and the parties will reach a final agreement that could strengthen the economic partnership between the US and Ukraine(BBC News).
