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On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the United States has proposed a new critical minerals agreement with Kyiv, expanding beyond a preliminary framework deal established last month. This proposal is part of efforts initiated under Donald Trump’s administration to bring an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
President Zelenskyy mentioned that he had not fully examined the proposal but noted that it does not involve increased US participation in Ukraine’s nuclear power industry, contrary to suggestions made by Trump the previous week. He described the US proposal as a “large, comprehensive agreement.”
The Financial Times previously reported that the Trump administration aimed to negotiate new terms for US access to Ukraine’s critical minerals and energy resources, potentially extending economic demands to include ownership of Ukraine’s nuclear energy facilities.
The US President is pursuing a minerals agreement to recover the billions of dollars in military aid provided to Kyiv since the onset of Russia’s comprehensive invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
Washington has now advanced a minerals agreement proposal that seeks to bypass the initial framework and directly address the specifics of ownership and control of a collaborative investment fund.
Zelenskyy stated that earlier plans involved starting with a framework agreement followed by a comprehensive agreement. However, the US has now suggested commencing directly with a grand agreement.
A spokesperson for the US Treasury commented, “The United States remains committed to swiftly finalizing this crucial agreement and securing enduring peace for both Ukraine and Russia.”
The US initially declined to sign the preliminary critical minerals agreement after a significant confrontation in the White House between Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Zelenskyy. In response, Washington temporarily suspended military support and intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
Initially, the critical minerals agreement, developed over two weeks in February, was intended to facilitate further discussions regarding US security assurances for Ukraine once the conflict with Russia had concluded.
The White House has argued that security guarantees are inherently part of any critical minerals deal, asserting that American economic investment in Ukraine would dissuade further Russian aggression.
Kyiv has not fully accepted this stance, seeking additional assurances from the US, which have yet to be provided.
While the details of the US-proposed minerals deal remain unclear, Ukrainian officials, who are currently reviewing the multi-page document, are relieved it does not involve transferring nuclear power plants to US control.
Nevertheless, officials are concerned that their efforts to secure a version of the Trump administration’s initial accord may be overridden by a proposal with expanded economic demands.
A Ukrainian official involved in the discussions indicated that while the nuclear issue had been mentioned in talks with the US, it was not included in the new proposal. However, it has not been ruled out as a topic for future discussions related to Trump’s initiative to end Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
There was confusion following a recent discussion between Trump and Zelenskyy, during which Trump reportedly mentioned potentially taking control of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities. Zelenskyy clarified that their discussion only covered the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, presently under Russian control.