A Ukrainian government team will soon travel to the US for consultations on the new framework for the rare earths deal in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha said, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
The US government has proposed a new, broader minerals deal. Ukraine last week announced that it has already received the draft agreement.
According to Sibikha, it is possible that consultations will be held online today between the teams in Washington and Kiev. "We expect a Ukrainian delegation to travel to Washington in the near future to discuss the terms of the agreement we received from the United States," the Ukrainian foreign minister, who is currently in Brussels, also said.
Sibiha pointed out that Kiev is still reviewing the new proposal from the Donald Trump administration and reiterated that the deal should be beneficial for both sides. It is also important to ensure that the agreement does not contradict Kiev's aspirations to join the EU, the Ukrainian minister added.
The agreement was never signed in its original version after a tense meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House in February.