America and Ukraine strike highly anticipated minerals deal
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America and Ukraine strike highly anticipated minerals deal
Thur 1 May 7am •
American-Ukrainian 'reconstruction investment fund' announced, two months after White House row
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Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Yahoo
U.S.–Ukraine minerals deal: the main points of the newly signed agreement
The U.S. and Ukraine signed the long-awaited minerals agreement on April 30, paving the way for further American support of Kyiv through a joint investment fund that will contribute to Ukraine's reconstruction. The deal comes after months of sometimes fraught negotiations, including an Oval Office shouting match between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that derailed its signing in February. While the U.S. officials had pushed for a swift agreement, Ukraine insisted on including security guarantees in the deal, and ensuring any agreement wouldn't be considered as repayment for any previous aid. Over the weekend, Ukrainian officials announced that they had managed to secure the removal of any requirement for Kyiv to pay back the U.S. for previous military assistance, but that any future aid would be counted toward the deal. While the current deal doesn't contain any security guarantees, Ukraine's Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko wrote on X to say that 'in addition to direct financial contributions (to the fund), the deal may also provide new assistance — for example, air defense systems for Ukraine.' Following its signing between Svyrydenko and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers published the full text of the agreement on its website. The agreement signed on April 30 lays the groundwork for the creation of a fund that will operate as a limited partnership with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation on the American side, and the Agency for Supporting Public-Private Partnership representing Ukraine. The future fund will be financed exclusively from new licenses. Fifty percent of revenues from new licenses in the fields of critical materials, oil, and gas, generated after the fund is created, will be directed to it, Svyrydenko said. Earlier leaked versions were met with backlash and caused speculation the agreement could have given the U.S. unprecedented access to revenues of state-owned Ukrainian giants, particularly in the energy sector. The agreement also provides a precise list of 57 mineral resources that the deal applies to, including strategic metals like uranium and lithium, rare earth elements, precious metals such as gold and platinum, oil, and natural gas. This list can be expanded only by agreement of both parties. The agreement stipulates that Ukrainian authorities must require anyone with mining or infrastructure licenses to share investment opportunities with the American-Ukrainian fund. Other interested parties cannot be offered more favorable terms if the fund shows interest in any investment, the agreement says. Earlier versions of the agreement also raised alarm over its potential conflict with an earlier agreement signed between Ukraine and the EU on its mineral resources in 2021. The newly signed deal requires any future investments under the fund to comply with Ukrainian and EU laws, without hindering Ukraine's EU accession process. "If, after the signing of this agreement, Ukraine needs to assume additional obligations related to its European Union accession that could impact this provision, the parties shall consult and negotiate in good faith to adopt adjustments,' the agreement reads. All income, contributions, and payments related to the fund activities in Ukraine will not be taxed, either in Ukraine or the U.S. In turn, the U.S. pledged not to impose restrictive trade tariffs on mineral products that the fund would buy from Ukraine. The document also guarantees free conversion of hryvnia to dollars for necessary transactions. If Ukraine's financial stability is threatened by foreign exchange shortages, the Ukrainian government may restrict currency conversion and transfers after consulting with the U.S. Treasury. Opposition MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak, who has had access to versions of the agreement and has been regularly commenting on it on his popular Telegram channel, called the deal's signing on April 30 'political' and just the first step toward further deals. This latest agreement requires ratification by Ukraine's parliament to come into effect, Zhelezniak said, adding that it could be voted on during parliamentary sessions between May 13-15, if all procedures can be completed in time. After ratification, two more parts of the mineral agreement will follow — a treaty between the DFC and the Agency from Ukraine, and a technical part. "Additionally, several laws will need to be amended, including specifically the Budget and Tax Codes," Zhelezniak wrote. Read also: The full text of the US, Ukraine minerals agreement We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
ITV News
01-05-2025
- ITV News
America and Ukraine strike highly anticipated minerals deal
Loading spinner America and Ukraine strike highly anticipated minerals deal Thur 1 May 7am • American-Ukrainian 'reconstruction investment fund' announced, two months after White House row
Russia Today
23-03-2025
- Russia Today
EU strategy towards Ukraine is ‘rudderless'
The EU has messed up its policy on the Ukraine conflict, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said. He reproached Brussels for its pro-war stance, while Washington is actively negotiating with both Moscow and Kiev to end the hostilities. Earlier this week, Hungary refused to endorse the EU's joint statement on Ukraine following the European Council meeting in Brussels. The document reaffirmed the bloc's uncompromising stance on the conflict and its intentions to further supply the country with weapons. 'I'm trying to find a good word that isn't offensive to them, but accurately describes the situation; perhaps 'rudderless' is the right term,' Orban said on Friday in an interview with Kossuth Radio, when asked to assess the EU's strategy regarding Ukraine and during the post-war period in general. Read more Something needs to be done to save Germany. €1 trillion of debt is not it The Hungarian leader warned that at some point, Europeans will find themselves in 'a situation where everything is already settled,' emphasizing that Brussels won't even be needed for the agreements that could eventually be reached by Washington. Shortly after taking office on January 20, US President Donald Trump launched a diplomatic campaign aimed at mediating an end to the conflict. His special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, recently suggested that a complete ceasefire between Kiev and Moscow could be reached within several weeks. 'There will be an American-Ukrainian agreement, an American-Russian agreement, and even a Russian-Ukrainian agreement brokered by them [the US],' Orban said, stressing that the bloc had 'messed up.' READ MORE: Europe's policy on Ukraine conflict 'paradoxical' – Kremlin The prime minister recalled that he had warned earlier that unless the EU 'changed our pro-war position and started outlining and standing for an independent European stance, we would find ourselves exactly in the position that we are in now: the future of Europe is being settled without us.' The Hungarian authorities have long criticized the EU's approach to the Ukraine conflict as being incapable of ending the hostilities and damaging to the bloc's member states. Orban has urged EU leaders to align the bloc's stance with that of the Trump administration. He stressed that while the US is opting for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, the EU is pursuing a policy of more war.
