Ukraine has agreed terms of a mineral deal after the US dropped its toughest demands, while Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia was ready to work together on rare earth minerals with foreign partners, not just the US.
The New York Times quoted Ukrainian officials as saying that Kyiv was ready to sign the agreement after the US dropped its demands for $500bn from resource development. Officials say they were able to negotiate much more favourable terms and present the deal as a way of expanding relations with the US to bolster Ukraine’s prospects after three years of war.
The final version of the agreement, dated February 24 and seen by The NYT, calls for the creation of a fund into which Ukraine will contribute 50 per cent of revenues from the “future monetisation” of state-owned mineral resources, including oil and gas, and associated logistics. The fund would invest in projects in Ukraine.
However, the agreement lacks any reference to US security guarantees, which Kyiv had initially insisted on. Ukrainian officials said the deal had been approved by the ministers of justice, economy and foreign affairs, and did not rule out the possibility of Zelensky visiting the White House in the coming weeks for a signing ceremony with Trump.
In early February, US President Donald Trump said that aid to Ukraine would continue if it promised to supply the US with rare earth minerals. After that, Zelensky noted that the US development of rare earth minerals of Ukraine is one of the items that are in his “Victory Plan” (a comprehensive proposal Zelensky presented to Trump in September 2024).
Later it became known that Zelensky refused to sign such an agreement, explaining that it contained no guarantees for Ukraine. After that, Trump accused Kyiv of derailing the deal and also called Zelensky a dictator for his unwillingness to hold presidential elections in Ukraine.
Proposal from Moscow
Moscow called the idea of co-operation between the US and Ukraine on rare earth minerals a commercial offer rather than assistance. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow is ready to offer the US and other partners participation in rare earth mining projects, including in new Russian territories. The politician noted that these territories have certain reserves. He said:
“We are ready to attract foreign partners also in the so-called new, our historical territories.”
Vladimir Putin held a meeting on rare earth metals just hours after President Donald Trump said the US was interested in Russian resources. Trump said:
“They (Russia) have a huge amount of rare earth metals. It’s by far the largest country. And they have very valuable things that we could use, and we have things that they could use, and it would be very nice if we could do that.”
The disagreement over the minerals provoked a major crisis in US-Ukraine relations, but the sides still decided to try to reach a compromise.
Sources on both sides now say a deal looks more likely. As part of the new talks, the sides have moved to a positive assessment of the dialogue, with US special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg calling Zelensky a determined and courageous leader of the embattled country on social media, and the Ukrainian president himself saying that “the meeting with General Kellogg brought back hope.”
