CNN
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The US and Ukraine have signed an “Economic Partnership Agreement” that will allow Washington to access Kiev’s rare earth minerals in exchange for the establishment of an investment fund in Ukraine.
The United States and Ukraine have been trying to break the natural resources agreement since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.
The deal came after weeks of intense negotiations, sometimes bitter and temporarily derailed Washington’s aid into Ukraine.
Speaking in a call with News Nation on Wednesday, Trump told Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky at a weekend meeting of bystanders at Pope Francis’ funeral if he signed the contract for “Russia is much bigger and far stronger.”
Trump said he has signed a contract to “protect” Washington’s contribution to Ukraine’s war efforts.
“We know far more than theoretically $350 billion today, but we wanted to be protected,” Trump told News Nation. “I didn’t want to be there and look stupid.”
Since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the actual total contribution the US has made to Ukraine is close to $123 billion.
On Wednesday, the US Treasury Department announced that the two countries had signed an agreement. “As the president said, the United States is committed to helping to promote the end of this cruel and meaningless war,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.
“The agreement clearly shows Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered around Ukraine, where it has long been free, sovereign and prosperous,” Bescent said. “And to be clear, the states or supplies that fund or supply Russian war machinery will not be permitted to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.”
Ukrainian Economic Minister Julia Swillidenko was in Washington to sign on behalf of the Ukrainian government.
Among the terms of the contract is “full ownership and control” with Ukraine, posted to X on Wednesday.
“All our territory and all of our territory’s resources belong to Ukraine,” she said. “The Ukrainian state decides where to extract. The subsoil remains under Ukraine’s ownership. This is clearly established in the agreement.”
The signature comes hours after last-minute disagreements when documents signed Wednesday threatened to derail the transaction.
Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky was expected to sign a contract during his trip to Washington in February, but the agreement was not signed when the visit was shortened following a controversial oval office meeting.
One of the key sticking points in negotiations was the issue of security assurance. And whether the US will offer them as part of the transaction. Trump initially refused by saying he wanted Ukraine to sign the agreement first and then talk about the guarantee later.
At the time, Zelensky explained that he wanted him to “sell” his country. Ukrainian officials have since shown that they believe US investment and the presence of American companies in Ukraine will make the US even more concerned with Ukraine’s safety.
Shortly after his fateful visit to the White House, Trump ordered our aid to Ukraine to be stopped. Support has since been restored, but this episode has become a major awakening call for Ukraine’s European allies, pledging to strengthen their help for the country.
Trump has largely requested the agreement, claiming that Ukraine had “repayed” for the aid the US has provided to Ukraine since Russia launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, Bescent said the deal was “a signal to the American people and we have the opportunity to participate and get some of our funds and weapons and compensate them for them.”
Details of the contract have not been made public. However, Ukrainian Prime Minister Dennis Schmichal said on Sunday that the deal “does not include the assistance provided for the signature.”
On Wednesday, Schmihal described the deal as “a strategic agreement on the establishment of an investment partnership fund.”
“This is an equal and beneficial international agreement between the US and the Ukrainian government regarding joint investment in Ukraine’s development and recovery,” he added.
Under this agreement, the US and Ukraine will establish a co-investment fund in Ukraine, contributing equal distribution between them, equal distribution of managed stocks between them.
“The US may also count new things. I am highlighting new military aid to Ukraine as a contribution to this fund,” Schmihal said.
Kiev’s allies have long looked at the country’s mineral wealth. Ukraine has 22 deposits of 50 materials classified as important by the US Geological Survey.
These include rare earth minerals and other materials that are essential for the production of electronics, clean energy technologies, and several weapons systems.
Global production of rare earth minerals and other strategically important materials has long been dominated by China, with Western countries desperate for other alternative sources, including Ukraine.
A memorandum prepared under the Biden administration last year said the US would promote investment opportunities for Ukrainian mining projects to American companies in exchange for creating economic incentives and implementing excellent business and environmental practices.
Ukraine already has a similar agreement with the European Union, which was signed in 2021.
This story has been updated in development.
