The US and Ukraine signed the agreement promoted intensely by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, which will provide Washington access to some of the natural resources of the country devastated by the war. The BBC consulted a project of the agreement and presents some essential aspects of it.
The agreement was signed after months of tense negotiations and is essential for Kiev's efforts to repair relationships with Donald Trump and the White House. BBC, who saw a project of the agreement, but not the final text, presents seven conclusions.
Ukraine does not reimburse the United States money
Trump has previously called for Ukraine to reimburse the $ 350 billion aid, which he claims to offer the US during the war-a condition that Zelenski rejected.
However, Washington seems to have made a concession. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Șmîhal said the agreement does not require his country to pay any alleged “debt”.
Trump has cataloged the agreement as a victory for his country. He said that the US will receive back, “in theory, much more” than the billions that were offered to Ukraine by his predecessor at the White House, Joe Biden.
A tougher tone to Putin's side of the US
The language used by the US in announcing the agreement was significantly tougher to Russia than that usually used by the Trump administration.
The agreement refers to the “large -scale invasion of Russia”, and the US Treasury Department mentions that “no state or person who has funded or provided the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from Ukraine's reconstruction.”
The aspect is encouraging for Kiev, who had asked to be exerted more pressure on Russia in Washington-Moscow discussions about a possible armistice.
Oil and gases included next to minerals
Although the agreements about the agreement have concentrated to a large extent on the mineral wealth of Ukraine, the agreement also includes provisions regarding oil, natural gas and other hydrocarbons.
In all cases, resources remain the property of Ukraine, even if the US will have common access.
The inclusion of oil and gas in agreement was interpreted as a relaxation of the Ukrainian position, as they did not appear in the previous versions of the project.
No obstacle to Ukrainian ambitions to access the EU
Ukraine has long aspired to enter the EU, and accession discussions have officially started in June 2024.
In Kiev there were certain concerns that the agreement for resources could affect Ukraine's ability to join the EU, given that Kiev and Brussels already have a strategic partnership on raw materials.
However, in the text of the agreement it is mentioned that the US recognizes Ukraine's intention to enter the EU and the need for the agreement not to conflict with this intention.
It is also mentioned that if Ukraine has to review the terms of the agreement due to “additional obligations” as part of the accession process, then the US will agree to negotiate with good faith.
An American military commitment again on the table …
The US has presented the agreement as essential if Ukraine wants to continue to receive military assistance.
The first vice-mayor Ukrainian Yulia Svyrydenko, who flew to Washington to sign the agreement, said he would foresee that the US will contribute new assistants.
An outstanding question is something eventually meant the agreement for the state of the war.
… But the US can withdraw anytime
The version consulted by the BBC does not provide for concrete security guarantees from the US, which has long been insist on.
Donald Trump was reluctant to assume a military commitment similar to that of Joe Biden.
Instead, his interest in maintaining the course of American aid is more default, given the economic commitments that the agreement establishes.
Will profits be reinvested in Ukraine?
An interesting aspect that the Government of Ukraine emphasized is that, in the first decade of the investment fund for reconstruction, the profits will be “fully reinvested in the economy of Ukraine”, either in new projects or in reconstruction.
The BBC writes that the provision does not appear to have been included in the agreement signed in Washington, but there is a chance that it will be part of an additional “technical” agreement.
The Secretary of the US Treasury, Scott Bessent, told Fox News on Wednesday night that the agreement was a signal for the American people that “we have the chance to participate, to obtain some of the financing and weapons, compensation for them and to be partners in the success of the Ukrainian people.”
