Ukraine will ask for changes to a new, sweeping minerals deal proposed by President Donald Trump, including increased US investment.
This is reported by Bloomberg, citing sources.
The draft proposal, seen by Bloomberg, would give Washington control over all major future infrastructure and mineral investments — with no time limits. Ukraine is concerned that the deal could not only undermine its bid to join the European Union but also require the return of all military and economic support provided by the United States since the start of the war.
Ukrainian officials held a video call with their American counterparts, including legal experts, on March 28 to seek clarification on the nearly 60-page draft agreement.
According to the agencyʼs sources, the Americans did not object to the concerns expressed by the Ukrainian side, especially regarding the potential conflict of the proposal with Ukraineʼs goal of EU membership.
“This suggests that Washington may be open to discussing changes,” the Bloomberg source said.
What preceded
The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brought a pilot draft of a minerals agreement to Ukraine on February 12. Washington hoped that Kyiv would sign it immediately. However, President Zelensky said that he had banned the signing of the agreement because it would not protect Ukraine’s interests — it had no connection to investments, profits, or security guarantees. After that, they began to refine it.
The final agreement was supposed to be signed on February 28, during Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs visit to the White House. However, then Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president had a falling out — the Ukrainian delegation left the White House early. The document was not signed. However, both sides stated that negotiations on the agreement were ongoing.
After that, CBS News wrote that Trump is pushing for a “bigger, better deal” with Ukraine on rare earths. The publication’s sources noted that the version of the agreement that was brought to the United States is not final — some of its points may change.
On March 27, the Financial Times, whose journalists received the text of the new agreement, wrote that the new draft agreement goes beyond the initial one. The agreement now proposed by the United States covers not only minerals, but also all mineral resources, including oil and gas, throughout the territory of Ukraine. The agreement also covers infrastructure related to the exploitation of natural resources: roads, railways, pipelines, ports and processing plants.
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