Deal done for US access to Ukrainian mineral rights

Ukraine has agreed to a mineral rights deal with the US that could be finalised as soon as Friday.

Ukraine has agreed to a mineral rights deal with the US that could be finalised as soon as Friday at a White House meeting between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

People close to the negotiations said the text had been agreed, and the US had dropped its previous demand for the right to $US500bn ($790bn) in potential revenue from the development of Ukraine’s mineral resources.

“It’s a very big deal. It could be a trillion-dollar deal,” Mr Trump said. “We’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars on Ukraine and Russia fighting a war that should have never ever happened.”

The signing ceremony would be a personal victory for Mr Zelensky, who has been pushing for a face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump but has instead had to watch as the US opened discussions with Moscow about how to end the war – excluding Ukraine. The Ukrainian President had refused to sign the mineral rights deal presented by a lower-level ­official, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Mr Zelensky’s refusal to sign set off a rapid deterioration in the relationship between Washington and Kyiv.

The Ukrainian President had said for months that Ukraine’s ­allies in the war against Russia could have access to the country’s mineral resources. However, he said he couldn’t sign an agreement that didn’t include security guarantees. Officials across ­Europe also expressed shock at some of the demands the US had made in the offer, including the right to up to $US500bn in revenue from mineral development, which is far more than the US has contributed to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began.

“I don’t want something that 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to pay back,” he said on Sunday. After Mr Zelensky refused the initial offer, Mr Trump called him a dictator and falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war. Top US officials met with their Russian counterparts to discuss how to end the conflict, without Ukraine, and the US voted against a UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion.

Though the new text doesn’t include security guarantees, Ukrainian officials hope it can help reset the country’s relationship with Mr Trump.

Mr Trump said that there would be peacekeepers in Ukraine, but didn’t say if the US would provide any support or troops to the deterrence mission. Despite Russia’s opposition to ­European forces in Ukraine, Mr Trump on Tuesday said the agreement would include “a form of peacekeeping that’s acceptable to everybody”.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ukraine would pay some proceeds from future mineral resource development into a fund that would invest in projects in Ukraine. Resources that already make money for the Ukrainian government – such as existing oil and gas production – will be ­exempt from the deal.

The size of the US’s stake in the fund and joint ownership deals will be hashed out in future agreements. Up to now, the US has been Ukraine’s largest supporter during the war, sending more than $US100bn in aid to the country, including nearly $US70bn in military aid.

However, Mr Trump’s statements in recent days have jolted not only Kyiv but leaders across Europe, who have held a series of meetings to plan for how they could aid Ukraine if the US pulled its support.

Without US support, current and former Western officials say, Ukraine is well equipped to keep fighting at the same intensity at least until the northern ­summer.

Hoping to further distance Washington from Kyiv, the Kremlin has floated an offer to give the US access to mineral resources in Russia and in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal