Ukraine, U.S. Make Substantial Progress in Mineral Agreement Negotiations

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced significant progress in the negotiations for a mineral agreement between Ukraine and the United States. During his regular video address on Wednesday evening, Zelenskyy reported that the Ukrainian government team and the U.S. had made substantial headway in their economic partnership agreement, with legal matters largely settled.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko posted on the social media platform X, stating that Ukraine and the U.S. had achieved "substantial progress" in their mineral agreement negotiations and would soon sign a memorandum of understanding.

In recent weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump has been seeking to finalize a bilateral mineral agreement as part of his efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Trump also views this agreement as a means to recoup the tens of billions of dollars in military aid provided to Ukraine. Zelenskyy, however, has stated that Ukraine does not recognize the past military aid as a loan.

Svyrydenko noted in her latest post that both sides had made positive strides in establishing a Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, among other areas. She added that the teams from both countries would continue to work on the specific details of the agreement.

"Our technical teams have collaborated extensively on the agreement and made significant progress. Our legal experts have made adjustments to several provisions in the draft agreement," she wrote.

Svyrydenko also mentioned that work on the agreement would continue, with both sides agreeing to sign a memorandum in the near future as the first step in documenting their progress.

Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Economy Taras Kachka, in a recent interview, stated that negotiations were progressing and that a temporary document or memorandum could be signed soon.

"The final document will not be signed this week. There is still much work to be done because the ideas proposed by the U.S. side need further development," he said.

According to reports, the U.S. has seemingly lowered its demands for Ukraine to repay the aid during the mineral agreement negotiations. Following a round of talks in Washington last week, the Trump administration reduced its estimate of aid to Ukraine from an initial $30 billion to approximately $10 billion, a figure closer to Ukraine's own estimate of around $9 billion.

Svyrydenko stated that the future agreement would require approval from the Ukrainian parliament and is expected to boost economic growth for both nations, though she did not provide further details.

"This will create opportunities for investment and development in Ukraine and pave the way for real economic growth for both Ukraine and the United States," she said.