Ukraine said Wednesday it had reached a “preliminary” deal to hand over its revenue from some of its mineral resources to the U.S., before visiting Washington on Friday by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy .
The deal is at the heart of Ukraine’s attempt to secure strong support from U.S. President Donald Trump as he seeks to quickly end Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has so far ruled out Kiev will continue on Thursday conduct.
“To me, we are not debtors. There is no $500 billion in debt in the agreement, nor $35 billion, nor $100 billion, because that’s not fair.”
Trump used the deal as a repayment of billions of dollars of aid during the war. Zelenskyy has been asking for security assurances in exchange for mineral rights, but it is not clear whether the requirements are successful.
“The agreement is part of our larger agreement with the United States. The agreement may be part of a security guarantee in the future … The agreement is an agreement, but we need to understand a broader vision,” Zelenskyy said.
“This deal may have been a huge success, or it may pass quietly. The big success depends on our conversation with President Trump.”
Front burner28:37Ukraine and Europe: Critical Moment
No interest in the “colonial treaty”: Ukraine PM
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal said Washington would be committed to supporting Kiev’s efforts to obtain security assurances under the final agreement, but Americans did not provide their own security assurances.
Hirhar said the Ukrainian government will authorize the agreed wording later on Wednesday so that it can be signed. He described it as a “preliminary” agreement.
Shyhal outlined the agreement in a TV commentary, saying Kiev will contribute 50% of its contribution: “all benefits gained from future gains from all relevant state-owned natural resource assets and related infrastructure.”
He said the proceeds would be under common control of the United States and Ukraine, adding that without the Kiev agreement, there would be no decision on the governance of the fund.
“Existing deposits, facilities, permits and rents are not discussed when creating this fund,” he added.
“Of course, neither the president nor the government will sign or consider … colonial treaties that do not take into account the national interests,” he said.
Reuters and the draft agreement dated February 25 were titled “Bilateral Agreement on the Terms and Conditions of Establishing Reconstruction Investment Funds”.
“The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine’s efforts to establish a lasting peace,” it said.
Despite discussions on the mineral agreement, Washington and Moscow have begun bilateral negotiations.
Russia’s Lavrov rejects the idea of post-war peacekeepers
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that talks between the Kremlin and U.S. officials in Istanbul will resolve disputes between the two sides that are a broader dialogue that is crucial to the Ukrainian war. Part.
Lavrov said Moscow could not consider “any option” to send European peacekeepers to Ukraine, an idea designed to fuel conflict and make it more difficult to downgrade.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his approval in his talks with Trump on Monday, saying troops could be deployed to ensure respect for any peace agreement. Trump said he accepted the idea, and Russian President Vladimir Putin did the same, although the Kremlin later said Russia opposed it hadn’t changed.
French President Emmanuel Macron met with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday to focus on Ukraine. At one point, Macron interjected and proposed a framework for how European funds flowed to Ukraine and said: “We provide real money, to be clear.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who will hold talks with Trump on Thursday, said he would prepare to send British troops to Ukraine as part of post-war and peacekeeping forces.
However, Lavrov, who had previously called the proposal “unacceptable”, raised Moscow’s objection to any deployment in the most powerful way, and after Trump suggested Putin put forward the idea, he said that any questions.
“We can’t consider any options” when he visited Qatar.
He added: “This approach was imposed by Europeans, mainly French, and also British, and the purpose was what I mentioned: further aggravate the conflict and stop any attempt to calm it down.”
Lavrov doubled Russia’s highest attitude to date towards any potential solution to Ukraine, saying Moscow still wants complete control of what it calls four regions, despite Ukraine’s objections.
The Donetsk Governor of the town said that during the fight on Wednesday, Russia killed at least five people and injured eight people by bombing the eastern Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka.
At least three bombs were used to target the town and its suburbs, the governor said on Telegram Messenger.
He added: “Recently, Russian attacks on Kostiantynivka civilians have become more frequent and more serious.”
