Volodimir Zelenski and Donald Trump. Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP / Profimedia
US President Donald Trump said the agreement between the United States and Ukraine on Ukraine's mineral resources could be signed next Thursday, April 24, according to the BBC. The statement was made at a press conference held in the Oval Office, along with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Previously, the Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski had stated, in a separate press conference, that an intentional memorandum could be signed during an online meeting scheduled for Thursday, according to Sky News.
According to a preliminary version, the agreement would involve the establishment of an “investment fund” for the reconstruction of Ukraine. Ukraine would contribute with 50% of the future revenues obtained from the mineral resources, the oil and the gases held by the state, funds that will then be invested “to support the safety, security and prosperity of Ukraine,” notes the BBC.
The United States will hold much of the background and invest in the country's reconstruction.
The agreement had to be signed in February, when President Volodimir Zelenski was visiting the White House. After a tense meeting between the two leaders, who ended with Zelenski's forced departure, the signing was postponed.
Later, after the US suspended aid for Ukraine, Zelenski sent on social networks that he is ready to sign the agreement at any time.
Asked where the agreement will be signed, Trump passed the word of the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent.
“We are still working on details,” Bessent said. “It is largely what I agreed,” he added.
A source said for AFP that newer versions seem to not recognize American help as a Ukraine's debt. This appreciation confirmed a previous article in Bloomberg News, who claimed that Washington had relaxed the request to reimburse the aid after the outbreak of the war.
At the end of last week, Reuters reported that the discussions had become more and more fierce and that the US had demanded control over a crucial pipeline in Ukraine, which was used for the delivery of Russian gas to Europe. The transit was stopped on January 1, when the contract between Kiev and Gazprom expired.
According to Agerpres, a Ukrainian delegation was in Washington, Friday and Saturday, for a new round of negotiations. On Monday, the American Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said Washington and Kiev are “very, very close to an agreement” on ores and that this document “could be signed this week.”
