Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk Photo: Getty images
Starting Monday, 24 February, the Ukrainian government will begin active work on concluding an agreement with the United States of America on joint development of mineral resources and security guarantees. This was announced by the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk in an interview with the Japanese newspaper NHK.
Stefanchuk said that after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with US Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, a government expert group would begin work on drafting a relevant agreement. He stressed that Ukraine is ready to cooperate with partners in the development of its mineral resources, but insists on receiving specific security guarantees.
“Ukraine intends to hold constructive discussions and seeks to hold a summit with the United States as soon as possible,” the speaker added.
Commenting on US President Donald Trump’s recent statements on the need to hold presidential elections in Ukraine, Stefanchuk reminded that Ukrainian law clearly prohibits holding elections during martial law. “It will be impossible to hold fair elections as long as Russia’s invasion continues, as the military will not be able to participate,” he explained.
The speaker also stressed that in order to end the war, Russia must not only withdraw from the territory of Ukraine and return the occupied lands, but also bear responsibility, including paying reparations to all those affected by the war.
Earlier it was reported that US negotiators raised the issue of the possibility of restricting Ukraine’s access to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet system in the context of the minerals agreement. At the same time, according to Sky News, Kyiv is not ready to sign the agreement in its current form, as it contains only unilateral obligations for Ukraine.
