U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko signed an agreement on Ukraine's natural resources, a photo was published on the social network X. The U.S. Treasury Department stated that the deal «clearly signals the Trump administration's commitment to a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine».
The document was signed after several months of intense negotiations, during which the United States tried to end Ukraine's three-year war with Russia. It is intended to ensure President Trump has a personal interest in the fate of the country, writes The New York Times.
The signed agreement differs from the initial version, with the Ukrainian side managing to change several key points. Thus, Ukraine has no debt obligations to the U.S. Previously, Trump demanded that Ukraine pay for past arms supplies with resources, but Zelensky convinced him to exclude this provision. According to Financial Times, the U.S. met Kyiv halfway after the Ukrainian side hired American lawyers. Moreover, Ukraine's subsoil remains owned and controlled by the state. Only the Ukrainian government determines what to extract from Ukrainian soil.
Ukraine and the U.S. are creating an equal investment fund. Neither side has a priority vote, and management is carried out jointly. In the initial version, the U.S. had preferences. At the same time, the Fund is filled with revenues only from new licenses. It will receive 50% from licenses for oil and gas extraction projects, reported Yulia Svyrydenko. She also noted that the structure of national ownership and privatization processes does not change. State corporations like «Ukrnafta» remain owned by Ukraine.
«Thanks to this agreement, we will be able to attract significant resources for recovery, start economic growth, and receive the latest technologies from partners and a strategic investor in the U.S.», stated Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. According to former U.S. Ambassador to Kyiv William Taylor, Ukraine received «a much more favorable deal on mineral resources» than the one initially proposed: the Americans accepted many of the Ukrainians' proposals.
Bloomberg notes that the agreement is critically important for peace agreement negotiations, and possibly thanks to it, Donald Trump will side with Ukraine in negotiations with Russia.