The US says that a mineral deal is not “on the table”
3 March 09:01
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that an agreement between Ukraine and the United States on Ukrainian minerals is not currently “on the table.” He said this in an interview with CBS, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
The American official voiced the thesis that potential peace and resource agreements are interconnected, and even more so, he said that a peace agreement is the basis for an economic agreement.
“It is impossible to have an economic agreement without a peace agreement. The Senate’s condition for an economic agreement is that the Ukrainian leadership wants a peace agreement. We were ready to sign the agreement, but President Zelensky broke the sequence,”
– the minister said.
He also said that Zelenskyy had spoiled all attempts by US President Donald Trump to “bring the American and Ukrainian people closer together.”
“The most tragic part of this is that President Trump’s idea for this economic agreement was to bring the American people and the Ukrainian people further together and to show the Russian leadership that there are no differences between us. And President Zelensky came to the Oval Office and tried to renegotiate the deal in front of the whole world,”
– bessent says.
Now Zelenskyy has to prove his good intentions to the American side.
“I think we have to see if President Zelenskiy wants to continue. What is the point of having an economic agreement that will be useless? If he wants the fighting to continue, then President Trump wants a peace deal,”
– the official said.
When the journalist asked if this meant that an economic agreement was no longer “on the table,” the minister replied:
“not at the moment”.
Meanwhile, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to emphasize that the Ukrainian side is not given any security guarantees.
“We are ready to sign an agreement on minerals, and this will be the first step towards security guarantees. But this is not enough, we need more. A ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine. We have been fighting for three years, and the Ukrainian people need to know that America is on our side,”
– zelensky said.
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Draft agreement between Ukraine and the United States: what is known
In February 2025, the United States and Ukraine reached a preliminary agreement aimed at jointly developing and managing Ukraine’s mineral resources. The agreement, known as the Bilateral Agreement Establishing Conditions for the Reconstruction Investment Fund, provides for the establishment of a joint investment fund to rebuild Ukraine’s war-ravaged economy. The main objective of the fund is to attract and reinvest revenues from Ukraine’s substantial mineral wealth to contribute to its recovery and long-term stability.
Key provisions of the draft agreement
Establishment of the Reconstruction Investment Fund. According to the text of the agreement, published by The Kyiv Independent, the fund will be jointly owned and managed by the governments of the United States and Ukraine. The ownership and financial interests of each party will be defined in a subsequent agreement on the fund. The fund will be managed by representatives of both governments, and more detailed terms will be set out in a subsequent agreement.
Ukraine’s contribution. Ukraine commits to allocate 50% of its future revenues from the monetization of its natural resources, including minerals, hydrocarbons, oil, natural gas and other extractive infrastructure, to the Reconstruction Investment Fund. These contributions will continue until the amount reaches USD 500 billion. It is important to note that current sources of revenue that are already included in the general budget of Ukraine are not covered by this agreement.
The role of the United States. The U.S. government is committed to maintaining a long-term financial commitment aimed at developing a stable and economically prosperous Ukraine. This includes investments, financial instruments, and other tangible and intangible assets critical to Ukraine’s recovery. However, the agreement does not include specific security guarantees or continued arms sales to Ukraine; these issues will be negotiated separately.
