Ukraine Submits Draft Agreement on Rare Minerals to the U.S.
A source from the Ukrainian delegation at the Munich Security Conference told Reuters on Friday that Ukraine has completed work on a draft agreement regarding minerals and has submitted it to the United States for review.
Kyiv has expressed its willingness to reach an agreement with Washington to open its vast reserves of critical minerals to American investment. This move comes as Ukraine seeks security guarantees from the U.S. as part of a peace agreement to end the war with Russia.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump had previously voiced his desire for the U.S. to secure large quantities of Ukraine’s rare minerals in exchange for the aid provided to Kyiv in its efforts to counter the Russian invasion.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump stated: “I want our money to be secured because we are spending hundreds of billions of dollars. Maybe they (the Ukrainians) will reach an agreement, maybe they won’t. Maybe one day they will become Russians, maybe they won’t,” referring to his request for $500 billion worth of rare minerals, which are particularly vital in electronics manufacturing.
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he expects an agreement with Ukraine on its mineral resources, which would partially compensate the U.S. for the funds it has spent on supplying Kyiv with weapons to resist the Russian invasion.
In a radio interview, Rubio stated: “Some of this money will go toward repaying the billions of dollars that were spent there from American taxpayers’ funds.”
