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The United States and Ukraine on Wednesday signed a minerals deal on Wednesday weeks after President Donald Trump had a major showdown with his Ukrainian counterpart at the Oval Office. The minerals deal, described as Donald Trump's administration as a “new form of US commitment to Ukraine” after the US President ended military aid following the Oval office spat, gives the US access to Kyiv's abundant rare earth mineral reserves. The accord establishes a joint investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction as Donald Trump tries to secure a peace settlement in Russia's three-year-old war in Ukraine.
The minerals deal is central to Kyiv's efforts to repair its strained relationship with the United States, which deteriorated after Donald Trump assumed office. It also secures long-term investment by the US. Ukraine said it secured key interests after protracted negotiations, including full sovereignty over its own rare earths, which are vital for new technologies and largely untapped.
Trump had initially demanded rights to Ukraine's mineral wealth as compensation for the billions of dollars in US weapons sent under former president Joe Biden after Russia invaded just over three years ago. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko signed the deal in Washington. After the signing of the deal, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the deal “signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term.
” He said, “And to be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.” “In recognition of the significant financial and material support that the people of the United States have provided to the defense of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, this economic partnership positions our two countries to work collaboratively and invest together to ensure that our mutual assets, talents, and capabilities can accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery,” he said, a press release mentioned. Speaking on national television in Kyiv, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal called the agreement “good, equal, and beneficial.
” Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X that the agreement includes provisions for Washington to contribute to the fund. “In addition to direct financial contributions, it may also provide NEW assistance -- for example air defense systems for Ukraine,” she said. (With AFP, Reuters inputs).
