KYIV, Ukraine: Ukraine and the United States are in the final stages of negotiating a minerals deal that would grant Washington access to Ukraine’s natural resources in exchange for continued US support, Kyiv said on Monday.
Negotiations have triggered tensions with US officials pressuring Ukraine to sign a deal despite Kyiv’s insistence that initial drafts lacked vital security guarantees.
“Ukrainian and US teams are in the final stages of negotiations regarding the minerals agreement. The negotiations have been very constructive, with nearly all key details finalised,” Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna said on X.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he aims to get concrete security guarantees from the United States in exchange for granting Washington access to critical resources.
US President Donald Trump has demanded that Ukraine give access to rare minerals to compensate for the wartime aid Kyiv received under Joe Biden.
“We are committed to completing this swiftly to proceed with its signature,” Stefanishyna added in her post on social media.
She said she hoped that Trump and Zelensky would sign the deal in Washington “to showcase our commitment for decades to come”.
On Sunday, Zelensky refused to sign the minerals deal with the US, arguing that the terms proposed by America would punitively hit generations of Ukrainians.
“I will not sign what ten generations of Ukrainians will have to pay back,” said Zelenskyy at a press conference.
Ukraine’s minerals deal
The deal involves the US gaining preferential access to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Ukraine’s critical minerals, which the Trump administration is demanding as payback for already-provided aid.
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Under Trump’s leadership, the White House has vowed to end the Russia-Ukraine war as soon as possible. The US is also looking to stop funding Ukraine’s war effort.
“We’re funding with no arrangement to pay it back. Alternatively, the Europeans were funding the minority share and they had agreements to pay it back. This agreement is much about repayment for all that we have done on behalf of the Ukrainian people. I expect the deal to be signed this week,” said Steve Witkoff, a top ally of Trump.
After a week of public criticism from Trump, and also calls “to tone down public criticism” and do the deal from US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Ukrainians are hoping for a satisfactory result.
“I want the same as Donald Trump says he wants — to end the war as soon as possible. I believe he wants and will help us to end it. But the ‘peace through strength’ tactic should be applied on Russia first and foremost. We are partners and I want him to be on our side,” Zelenskyy said.
While Zelenskyy wants a deal, he has so far refused to sign two draft minerals agreements sent by the US.
The first rejected draft featured a demand Ukraine share 50 percent of the profits it would get from the minerals, put the deal under American jurisdiction, and said the US would need $500 billion from Ukraine.
