Ukraine has agreed to take over revenues from some of its mineral resources to the United States, according to Americans and Ukrainian officials on Tuesday in a deal following a fierce pressure campaign from President Trump, including insults and threats. I stated.
The final terms of the transaction were unknown, and it was not immediately clear if Ukraine had received in return after a difficult, sometimes tense day in negotiations. With the Russian war in its fourth year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly sought security assurances in exchange for mineral rights.
Previous draft contracts reviewed by The New York Times did not include such commitments. Trump has moved his American alliance with Ukraine to a naked, commercial foothold, claiming he wants to “recover” his past military aid to Kiev.
The final translation of the contract was sent to Ukraine on Tuesday, according to American officials. Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent and his Ukrainian counterparts said they are expected to sign the agreement first. Zelensky is expected to go to Washington to sign up with Trump. American and Ukrainian officials insisted on speaking anonymously to explain the private negotiations.
On Tuesday afternoon, Trump said of Zelensky: “I've heard he's coming on Friday. Certainly, if he wants, it's fine for me.”
Zelensky is coming up for several days to directly decide on an agreement with Trump. However, Ukrainian leaders demand other provisions that Ukraine deemed unacceptable as Trump had demanded $500 billion worth of mineral rights due to a lack of certain US security guarantees. Because of this, they rejected at least one draft agreement of the contract.
Ukrainians have become accustomed to this deal in the past few days after Americans have removed some of the more troublesome situations.
As Russia seized benefits on the battlefield, debate over mineral rights took place. Trump also formed an alliance with President Vladimir V. Putin, encouraging Zelensky.
Trump called the Ukrainian president a “dictator” and mistakenly said that Ukraine began the war, despite the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.
He told Mr Zelensky to sign the deal. In response, Zelensky said Trump was trapped in the “disinformation bubble” in Russia.
The deal, which is testament to Trump's approach to diplomacy, follows a similar move by the US president, and puts pressure on allies such as Canada and Colombia to comply with or at least negotiate his demands. It is leveraging the economic power of the United States.
Critics say the previous draft deal did not take into account the cost of living that Ukraine is already paying for the wider security of Europe – beating Russia's first invasion, and Russia's in the west of the West Three years of fierce battles by preventing military presence and crushing Moscow's army.
Zelensky brought the idea of resource trading to the forefront last fall, providing more incentives for US military support. However, he balked the conditions presented by the Trump administration when Bescent visited Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, on February 12th.
Zelensky said one proposal would result in Ukraine double the value of future American aid to the United States.
“I have not signed that 10 generations of Ukrainians have to pay back,” he told the news conference. Still, the Ukrainian leaders admitted that in the end there might be little choice.
“If we're forced and we can't do it without it, then we should probably do it,” he said.
The White House argued that even without a specific security guarantee, the mere presence of American economic interests on Ukraine would thwart future Russian invasions.
“What would be better for Ukraine than joining an economic partnership with the US?” US national security adviser Mike Waltz said last week.
Alan Rappyport contributed to the report from Washington.
