Marta Gichko10:32, 01.05.25

The agreement “confirms the commitment of the United States of America to the security, recovery, and reconstruction of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Minister of Economy noted.

Ukraine has returned the favor of US President Donald Trump by signing a natural resources agreement , Bloomberg writes .

The strategic agreement, which gives Washington priority access to Ukrainian natural resources, including aluminum, graphite, oil and gas, was signed after weeks of tense negotiations and marked a breakthrough in relations between the Trump administration and Kyiv.

After the failure of the February visit to Washington, when Volodymyr Zelenskyy left the US capital without agreements after a conflict in the Oval Office, the new agreement symbolizes the restoration of Trump’s trust in Kyiv.  

“I told him that it would be a great thing if we could make a deal that he would sign,” Trump said of meeting with Zelensky at the funeral of Pope Francis.

Trump personally announced the agreement:  

“We have an agreement where our money will be safe, where we can start mining and do what we need to do… It’s also good for them because there will be an American presence on site, and that presence will prevent many of the attackers from getting into the country or certainly into the area where we are mining.”

Under the agreement, the United States will receive priority rights to the project’s profits, with half of the proceeds going to a special fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction. This fund will also partially offset future U.S. military aid.

“This agreement clearly signals to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process focused on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine in the long term… And, to be clear, no nation or individual that has financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant stressed.  

Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed on social media: “Together with the United States, we are creating a Fund that will attract global investments to our country.”

She added that the agreement “reaffirms the commitment of the United States of America to the security, recovery, and reconstruction of Ukraine.”

Although the agreement does not contain security guarantees, it does ease some of the tension between the countries. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the US has dropped its demand for the return of aid already provided, which was previously voiced as a demand for $500 billion in minerals.

The agreement also allowed for the resumption of intelligence sharing, which was suspended in February.  

“Any positive step, anything that helps maintain US engagement, is worth taking,” stressed Charles Litchfield of the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center.

But difficult peace talks lie ahead. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Putin, but no agreement was reached. The White House acknowledges Trump’s disappointment with both sides – Ukraine and Russia – over the failure of a promised quick ceasefire.

“Trump has threatened to walk away from the talks if there is no progress on a ceasefire, raising concerns among Ukraine’s allies about the extent to which Kyiv can be blamed for the failure of the talks. The resource deal appears to be returning Zelensky and Ukraine to Trump’s favor, at least for now,” the publication concluded.

(c)UNIAN 2025