Washington and Kiev have apparently reached an agreement on a framework agreement for Ukraine's valuable raw materials. It could be signed at the White House as early as Friday, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit there. "I heard he wants to come on Friday, that certainly doesn't bother me if he wants to", Donald Trump said.
One of the important topics during their meeting will probably be the US's access to important raw materials such as rare earth metals in Ukraine. Trump said that Zelensky wanted to sign the document with him personally, but did not give any details.
The Ukrainian president will probably use the meeting in Washington to agitate for continued military aid from Washington. Russia and the United States have recently become closer, which is being watched with great concern both in Kiev and in many European countries.
A joint fund is apparently being planned
The exploitation of Ukrainian raw materials is considered strategically important and economically profitable. Trump sees US access to natural resources as a condition for arms supplies to Ukraine and has defined this as a kind of repayment for aid already provided.
According to the Agence France-Presse, which refers to influential representatives of the Ukrainian government who wished to remain anonymous, the United States has agreed to remove one clause from the agreement. It includes the point that would oblige Ukraine to supply raw materials worth a total of 500 billion US dollars.
Will the United States provide security guarantees?
It is planned to create a joint fund in which the profits of Ukrainian state-owned companies in the raw materials sector would be pooled. In exchange for joint exploitation of the valuable resources, the United States will provide a long-term financial commitment to the development of a "stable and economically prosperous Ukraine". However, the framework agreement does not include any security guarantees from the United States.
It is also unclear whether the United States would be willing to invest first in Ukrainian companies to accelerate exploitation. In addition, some of the deposits are located in Russian-occupied territory in eastern Ukraine. And the military situation in Ukraine is deteriorating, so it is currently very unlikely that these areas will be recaptured.
According to Ukrainian data, the country has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals that the EU defines as critical. Among them are precious and non-ferrous metals and some rare earth elements. Ukraine's graphite reserves account for 20% of the world's resources. Graphite is a key component in batteries for electric cars and nuclear reactors.