Ukraine is ready to sign an agreement that would give the United States access to its precious rare minerals in the hope of guaranteeing the continuation of American support in kyiv in war with Russia, held senior Ukrainian officials said.
The Ukrainian Minister of Economy and Vice-Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, went to Washington on Wednesday to help finalize the agreement, according to two senior Ukrainian officials who spoke under the guise of anonymity.
For Ukraine, the agreement is considered the key to ensuring its access to future American military aid.
“Really, this is a strategic agreement for the creation of an investment partners' fund,” said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on local television.
“This is really an equal and good international agreement on joint investment in the development and restoration of Ukraine between the governments of the United States and Ukraine.”
US President Donald Trump said in February that he wanted to access Ukraine's rare land materials as a condition for continuous support from the United States in the war, describing him as a reimbursement of the billions of dollars in Washington aid gave kyiv.
But the discussions on this agreement stalled after a tense oval office meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy in February and reaching an agreement since then, it turned out to be difficult.
It was not immediately clear if the Trump administration was also ready to finalize the agreement on Wednesday.
The United States is looking for access to more than 20 raw materials deemed strategically essential to its interests, including certain non-minerals such as oil and natural gas.
Rare Land minerals
Among them, Ukraine titanium deposits, which are used to make aircraft wings and other aerospace manufacturing, and uranium, which is used for nuclear energy, medical equipment and weapons.
Ukraine also has lithium, graphite and manganese, which are used in electric vehicle batteries.
After Kyiv thought that the initial American agreement of the agreement has disproportionately favored American interests, he introduced new provisions to respond to these concerns.
According to Shmyhal, the latest version would establish an equal partnership between the two countries and last 10 years.
Financial contributions to a joint fund would be made in cash and only new American military aid would count American.
The aid provided before signing the agreement would not be counted. Unlike an earlier version, the agreement would not be in conflict with the path of Ukraine to joining the European Union, a key provision for kyiv.
ADVERTISEMENTThe Ukrainian cabinet had to approve the text of the agreement before it could be signed in Washington.
The agreement should then be ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament before it can take effect.
Putin wants answers before committing to ceasefire
Negotiations are involved in the midst of rocky progress in the push of Washington to stop the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin fell back for a ceasefire before peace negotiations, “but before this is done, it is necessary to answer a few questions and sort a few nuances,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
ADVERTISEMENTPutin is also ready for direct talks with Ukraine without preconditions to seek a peace agreement, he added.
“We realize that Washington wants to achieve rapid progress, but we hope to understand that the regulation of the Ukrainian crisis is far too complex to be done quickly,” Peskov said at his conference on a daily call with journalists.
Trump expressed his frustration as to the slowness of progress in negotiations to stop war.
The leaders of Western Europe accused Putin of blocking while his forces seek to grasp more Ukrainian land. Russia captured almost a fifth of the territory of Ukraine since the forces of Moscow launched a large -scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
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