Washington and Kyiv have signed a memorandum of intent to work towards a complex agreement on access to Ukraine’s natural resources and critical minerals, a senior Ukrainian official announced on Thursday.
"We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine," Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister, wrote on X.
Kyiv and Washington had planned to sign the agreement on the extraction of Ukraine’s strategic minerals several weeks ago, but a conflict between former President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February temporarily halted the process.
Trump wants the agreement, which seeks to grant the US royalties from profits made from the exploitation of Ukrainian resources and rare minerals, to serve as compensation for the aid provided to Ukraine by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Svyrydenko did not release details of the memorandum but mentioned that efforts were ongoing towards a final agreement.
“We hope that the Fund will become an effective tool for attracting investments in the reconstruction of our country, modernization of infrastructure, support for business, and the creation of new economic opportunities,” she said. “There is a lot to do, but the current pace and significant progress give reason to expect that the document will be very beneficial for both countries.”
US officials claim that strengthening US commercial interests in Ukraine will help deter Russia from future aggression in the event of a ceasefire.
Kyiv is demanding concrete military and security guarantees as part of any agreement to end the three-year-long war.
