Officials from the USA and Ukraine They met yesterday, April 11, 2025 in Washington to discuss the draft agreement with which the US aspire to gain privileged access to Ukraine’s mineral wealth.
According to a well -informed source, cited by the Reuters news agency, the talks were made US -Ukraine in an electrified atmosphere that did not indicate significant progress. The reason was said to have been that the new “maximalist” version of the text presented by the American side includes adverse terms for Kiev.
The proposed agreement will give the US privileged access to Ukraine’s strategic minerals, demanding Kiev to channel the revenue of natural resources from state and private companies to a common investment fund.
However, it does not provide for US security guarantees that Ukraine President Volodimir Zelenski insisted on the fight against Russian invaders who have occupied about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
The new version of the text has been added to the US claim of the US Development Bank (DFC) the control of Gazprom’s Gas Transportation pipeline by the Russian energy giant Gazprom through Ukraine to Europe, according to the source cited by Reuters.
The Ukrainian government has hired the Law Firm Hogan Lovells as a consultant in negotiations on the Plan for Minerals, according to the same source.
Zelenski stressed on Wednesday that the mineral agreement should be beneficial to both countries, adding that it should be structured in such a way as to help modernize Ukraine.
Top Ukrainian government officials, including Prime Minister Denis Smihal and Finance Minister Sergi Marchenko, will be in Washington in two weeks for the Spring Council of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. A meeting dedicated to Ukraine is scheduled for April 25, sources who know the program say.
US President Donald Trump seeks to reach an agreement on the exploitation of Ukraine’s mineral wealth, in particular the precious rare earths, as compensation for the military and financial aid granted to Kiev by his predecessor to the White House, by the White House.
Source: RES-EIA