Euro-Atlantic integration minister expects Ukraine will sign minerals deal with US

, 18 February 2025, 11:43

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration and Minister of Justice, has said that an agreement with the US on the use of natural resources is still being discussed.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister says that Ukraine has not "rejected" the agreement on critical minerals proposed by the United States.

"We expect that it will be signed," she said, as quoted by The Guardian.

As European Pravda reported, Washington demanded that Ukraine sign an agreement on the distribution of Ukrainian mineral resources without amendments and later removed all revisions proposed by the Ukrainian side before the meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US Vice President J.D. Vance.

Officially, Zelenskyy and Vance agreed to refine the draft, with the Ukrainian president emphasizing that the document needed more specifics regarding security guarantees, "even if it is just a memorandum."

Ukraine insists that it remains committed to reaching an agreement, but only in an acceptable form and as part of a broader security guarantee package following negotiations.

NBC News reported that the Trump administration proposed that Ukraine give the United States 50% ownership of the country's rare earth minerals, but Zelenskyy refused to sign the document. The White House called the decision "short-sighted".