Ukraine says the mineral deal presented by the US differs substantially from an earlier framework that had been agreed upon
DNIPRO, Ukraine — A new U.S. proposal for a minerals deal with Ukraine dramatically changes the last terms Kyiv proposed to Washington, according to Ukrainian officials and a draft of the document, setting the stage for potential further tension between the two countries as the White House pushes for access to Ukraine’s natural resources.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Thursday that lawyers were studying the new proposal, which was different from the previous framework that had been agreed on.
“In the end, we agreed on a framework. Now, the rules have changed again,” he said from Paris, where he met with European leaders. “It’s far too early to speak definitively about an agreement whose draft has changed several times. But I want to make it clear that we do not want the United States to think that Ukraine is opposed to this process overall.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Wednesday that he hopes to get to full discussions “and even get signatures next week” on the deal.
National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt said “the mineral deal offers Ukraine the opportunity to form an enduring economic relationship with the United States that is the basis for long-term security and peace,”
A quick approval is unlikely, however, judging by the reaction of several Ukrainian lawmakers and officials. The new draft deal, said one senior official, looks like “Ukraine was in the war with U.S., lost, [was] captured and now has to pay lifetime reparations.” The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Ukrainian and U.S. officials were set to sign a framework agreement in Washington last month, which would have laid the groundwork for cooperation and mutual benefit from future extraction of Ukraine’s mineral deposits. But after an explosive Oval Office meeting between Zelensky and President Donald Trump last month, plans were abruptly canceled for the rest of the visit, and the proposal was never signed.
Now Washington has stunned Kyiv by preparing a new, much more extensive draft of a deal, first published by the Financial Times on Thursday. The senior Ukrainian official verified to The Post that the 55-page document it has seen is legitimate.
The new document does not include any security guarantees, considers all U.S. support to Ukraine during the war as debt to be paid back with interest from the proceeds of the deal and give U.S. control over all investments related to energy and minerals.
The senior official said the draft raises major concerns for Ukraine, since it reclassifies past U.S. grants now as loans. He said Washington is also requesting “50 percent from all new existing revenue sources without U.S. contribution at all.”
Yuliya Svyrydenko, the Ukrainian deputy prime minister and minister of economy, confirmed that Ukraine has received a working version of the deal and is reviewing it. Speaking during a meeting with the Ukrainian parliament on Friday, she urged caution against public discourse.
“Any public discussions about the text of this agreement at this stage are only harmful to the negotiation process and hinder our ability to conduct a constructive dialogue with our American partners,” she said.
A former Ukrainian official familiar with negotiations said the new proposal “is terrible for Ukraine.”
“There is not any chance it would be signed in this version,” the former official said. “But maybe it’s just an initial U.S. negotiating position, which would be smart.”
On Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said Ukraine remains committed to reaching a “win-win” deal that would lead to the advantageous “presence of American business here, strategic and long-term, for many years.”
The proposed deal for Washington to profit from Ukraine’s mineral wealth became a priority for the Trump administration, which first presented a draft agreement to Zelensky in early February. The initial proposal did not include security guarantees for Ukraine and was framed as a way for Ukraine to reimburse the United States for past assistance, which was not provided at the time with the expectation it would have to be repaid.
Bessent presented the deal to Zelensky in a visit to Kyiv in early February, expecting him to sign on immediately. Zelensky declined to do so.
Ukrainian officials then worked to rewrite the deal with more favorable terms, including broad language about security guarantees and joint control over any future fund controlling the profits from Ukrainian resources.
Ukraine has long hoped that any such mineral deal would include a written offer of serious security guarantees for the country. Kyiv has made clear that U.S. investment in its natural resources and the presence of U.S. companies in Ukraine alone will not serve as a deterrent against future Russian aggression.
Zelensky has also repeatedly said publicly that he would not agree to any deal that would leave future generations of Ukrainians in debt.
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