Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Iulia Sviridenko, and US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent (who does not appear in the picture), sign the agreement on rare minerals during an online meeting. Kiev, Ukraine, April 18, 2025. Photo: AA / Abaca / Abaca Press / Profimedia
Kiev and Washington signed the agreement promoted intensely by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, which will offer the United States preferentially access to new agreements on Ukrainian ores and that will finance investments in Ukraine's reconstruction, reports Reuters.
The two countries signed the agreement in Washington, after months of sometimes tense negotiations, the uncertainty persisting until the last moment, when it was an obstacle at the last moment.
The agreement establishes a common investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine, in the context of Trump's efforts to ensure a peace agreement in the war that lasts for more than three years between Russia and Ukraine.
The agreement is essential for Kiev's efforts to repair the relations with Trump and the White House, which have deteriorated after taking over by the Republican mandate in January.
The Secretary of the US Treasury, Scott Bessent, and the first Ukrainian vice-president, Iulia Sviridenko, were photographed while signing the agreement, in an image published on the social network X of treasury, who said that the agreement “clearly signals the commitment of the Trump administration to a free Ukraine,”.
On April 30, The United States and Ukraine Signed an agreement to Establish the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund.
This Economic Historic Partnership Clearly Signals the Trump Administration's Commitment to a free, Sovereign, and Prosperous Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/ckuacohet9
– Treasury Department (@ustreasury) April 30, 2025
Sviridenko wrote, on X, that the agreement provides for the contribution of Washington to the common investment fund.
“In addition to direct financial contributions, it can also provide new assistance (the author's underline, no), for example anti -aircraft defense systems,” she said.
Washington is Ukraine's largest military donor after the beginning of the Russian invasion of 2022, offering a TTOal aid of over 64 billion euros ($ 72 billion), according to the Kiel Institute in Germany.
Prior to signing, Trump reiterated on Wednesday that the US should get something in exchange for Kiev's help, hence the efforts to conclude an agreement for the rich Ukraine's rare mineral deposits.
At the announcement of the agreement, the US Treasury transmitted that the partnership recognizes “the financial support and significant material that the American people granted to the defense of Ukraine from the beginning of the large -scale invasion of Russia.”
A preliminary version of the agreement, consulted by Reuters on Wednesday, showed that Ukraine has obtained the elimination of any requirement to reimburse the military aid granted by the US, a request to which Kiev had firmly opposed.
Ukrainian officials hope that the signing of the agreement will strengthen the American support for Kiev during the war.
The agreement of the agreement does not specify concrete security guarantees from the US for Ukraine, one of the initial objectives of Kiev.
Separately, Kiev discussed with the European allies about the composition of an international force that contributes to ensuring the security of Ukraine in case of concluding a peace agreement with Russia.
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