Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday reported “good progress” on negotiations for a mineral rights deal between Ukraine and the United States.
“The basic legal stuff is almost finalized, and then, if everything moves as quickly and constructively, the agreement will bring economic results to both our countries,” Zelensky said in his daily address to the Ukrainian people.
Zelensky’s remarks echoed the assessment given by Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who said “significant progress” has been made on the deal.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that a deal “could even be signed as early as this week.”
“We are very, very close,” he said.
According to Bloomberg News on Wednesday, the deal began moving quickly toward completion after the Trump administration “tempered its demands” for Ukraine to pay back the enormous sums of money America has contributed to its war effort.
The Trump team did not completely abandon that demand, but it scaled its estimate of the amount Ukraine should repay down to roughly $100 billion from $300 billion. This greatly reduced the gap with Ukraine’s own estimate of $90 billion.
The deal on the table would reportedly put Ukraine’s mineral profits into a “reconstruction investment fund.” The United States would control that fund and have first claim on mineral profits until Ukraine’s war debt is repaid.
The Ukrainians strongly dislike the idea of portraying U.S. military aid as a “war debt” that Kyiv is required to repay. The Ukrainians also object to Trump’s idea of treating military assistance and financial support furnished by the United States as a contribution to the reconstruction fund, because Kyiv wants the U.S. to make heavy additional donations to that fund.
Bloomberg News quoted Ukrainian officials who said one reason they dislike the “war debt” concept is that giving preferred repayment consideration to the United States could thwart Ukraine’s ambition to join the European Union (EU).
“The provisions are so expansive that, if enforced, they make it virtually impossible for Ukraine to meet the EU’s rules on competition, single market, public procurement and transparency, which are essential criteria for becoming a member state,” EuroNews noted.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Wednesday that EU membership was a “red line” for his government, so no deal that could interfere with Ukraine joining the EU was acceptable.
