US, Ukraine sign joint minerals deal

Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy huddle at the Vatican during Pope Francis' funeral

(Image credit: Office of the President of Ukraine via Getty Images)

What happened

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko Wednesday signed a deal to share Ukraine's mineral wealth through a new joint partnership, the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. The agreement "signals clearly to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine over the long term," Bessent said in a statement.

Who said what

The minerals deal, sealed after "months of fraught negotiations," was intended to give President Donald Trump a "personal stake" in Ukraine's fate "while addressing his concerns that the United States has provided Kyiv with a blank check to try to withstand Russia's invasion," The New York Times said. Unlike earlier drafts, which "critics called a brazen extortion of Ukraine," the final deal stipulates that only future U.S. military aid can be counted toward America's 50% contribution to the fund. The partnership will finance investments to extract Ukraine's oil, gas, titanium, uranium and rare earth minerals, and the revenue will be split 50/50.

What next?

The agreement, which still needs ratification by Ukraine's parliament, looks like a "win-win," Heidi Crebo-Rediker of the Council on Foreign Relations told The Wall Street Journal. "The U.S. will have a vested interest in the geology that the Ukrainians will be fighting for." But "Trump cannot force private U.S. firms to make expensive and potentially unprofitable investments" in Ukrainian mineral projects, The Washington Post said, especially during a war.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.