Policy

The Ukrainian-American Mineral Pact: Why it can be signed today

The United States and Ukraine are ready to sign a major mining agreement despite recent diplomatic tensions. Reuters writes about this with reference to its own exclusive sources, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.

The media reports that US President Donald Trump told his advisers that he wants to announce the deal in his address to Congress.

The media outlet writes that in recent days, American officials have been talking to the Ukrainian authorities about signing a mineral supply agreement despite the breakdown of talks on Friday, February 28, and urged advisers to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to convince him to apologize to Donald Trump.

On March 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced his readiness for new talks with the United States.

“I want to emphasize once again that Ukraine is committed to peace. None of us wants an endless war. No one wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I are ready to work under the strong leadership of President Trump to achieve a lasting peace,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on his page on the social network X.

According to the Ukrainian leader, he and his team are ready to work quickly to end the war. And the first step in this direction could be the release of prisoners and an immediate ceasefire in the sky: a ban on missiles, long-range drones, bombing of energy and other civilian infrastructure – and an immediate truce at sea if Russia does the same.

“Then we want to go through all the next stages very quickly and agree on a strong final agreement with the United States,” the Ukrainian president expressed his readiness to cooperate.

The Ukrainian president also admitted that his meeting in Washington on February 28 with U.S. President Donald Trump “did not go as planned.”

“It is a shame that this happened. It’s time to do the right thing. We would like to see further cooperation and communication be constructive. As for the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time and in any convenient format. We see this agreement as a step towards strengthening security and reliable security guarantees, and we hope that it works effectively,” Zelenskyy summarized.

In addition, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal expressed his readiness to sign an agreement on rare earth metals. He noted that the government does not succumb to general hysteria, but instead continues to calmly and purposefully cooperate with the United States.

“We will continue to calmly work with the United States of America, with the US Congress, with the Trump Administration and President Trump through all diplomatic channels available to us. To ensure that Ukraine and the United States continue our struggle for a just, lasting, stable peace in Ukraine and on the European continent. And today, Ukraine is absolutely determined to continue cooperation with the United States of America,” the head of the Ukrainian government said.

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 draft 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.