Ukraine and the US sign a memorandum on minerals

Ukraine and the United States have signed a memorandum aimed at cooperation in the field of mineral resources. This document confirms the intention to finalise and conclude a subsoil agreement.

This was announced by the Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko.

According to her, the agreement on minerals will open up opportunities for significant investment, infrastructure modernisation and mutually beneficial partnership between Ukraine and the United States.

«Today we have taken a step towards a joint Economic Partnership Agreement with the United States. Ukraine and the United States of America have signed a Memorandum that confirms the constructive joint work of our teams and the intention to finalise and conclude an agreement that will be beneficial to both our nations», she said.

She also noted that the Government is currently preparing to create an Investment Fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

«The agreement will open up opportunities for significant investment, infrastructure modernisation and mutually beneficial partnership between Ukraine and the United States, and this is the purpose of the teams working on the document. It is important that we confirm with our agreements the desire of the American people to invest together with the Ukrainian people in a free, sovereign and secure Ukraine. The next step is to finalise the text of the Agreement and sign it. And then — ratification by the parliaments. I am grateful to our technical teams — Ukrainian and American — for their professional, constructive and fast work», wrote Yuliia Svyrydenko.

Agreement on minerals between Ukraine and the United States

Earlier, Donald Trump said that he would like to conclude an agreement under which Ukraine would supply the United States with rare earth minerals needed for electronics production in exchange for American aid.

However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticised Donald Trump's proposal to provide Ukraine with military assistance in exchange for its minerals.

Subsequently, US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine had agreed to provide Washington with access to rare earth minerals worth $500 billion.

However, it should be noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to sign an agreement on granting the US access to rare earth minerals. The White House called this decision «short-sighted».

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the United States might consider investing in mining on the Black Sea shelf, which is currently under Russian occupation.

US National Security Advisor Mike Volz called on Kyiv «to tone it down» and sign the mining agreement that President Zelenskyy had previously rejected.

Subsequently, the US President Donald Trump's administration sent Ukraine an updated version of the mining agreement, which took into account some of Kyiv's comments. The new draft US minerals agreement provides for the distribution of revenues from resources in the liberated territories of Ukraine.