Ukraine, US To Sign Minerals Deal (Worthy News In-Depth)

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

WASHINGTON/KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – War-torn Ukraine has agreed with the United States to jointly develop its natural resources in an effort to ease tensions and advance the prospects of a U.S.-backed ceasefire with Russia, several officials said Tuesday.

The deal is due to be inked as early as Friday when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet U.S. President Donald J. Trump in Washington, Worthy News learned.

“I hear that he’s coming on Friday,” U.S. President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Tuesday. “Certainly, it’s okay with me if you’d like to, and he would like to sign it together with me. And I understand that’s a big deal.”

However, according to sources familiar with the accord, the agreement lacks American security guarantees for Ukraine, which Kyiv was reportedly pushing for.

However, it also does not mention the $500 billion figure Trump demanded in compensation for Washington’s support for Kyiv in fending off Moscow’s invasion.

Yet one version does say that Kyiv will pay “50 percent” of the revenues from its state-owned natural resources into a fund that would invest in Ukraine.

MAJOR SHIFT

Sources say Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha‎ and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will sign the deal after it is approved by Ukraine’s Cabinet this week.

If the deal goes ahead, it will mark a significant shift in Zelenskyy’s thinking.

Zelenskyy so far refused to sign two draft agreements proposed by Trump’s administration, which reportedly included Kyiv giving up minerals, oil and gas revenues, plus earnings from ports and other infrastructure to the tune of $500 billion.

“I will not sign what 10 generations of Ukrainians will have to pay back,” Zelenskyy said Sunday. But suggested that a “final deal” is “very close” and that it will include “rare earths and various other things.”

Yet experts say that despite reports of $10 trillion in mineral deposits, Ukraine has no major rare-earth reserves, used mainly in high-strength magnets, that are recognized as economically viable.

“Ukraine does have some commercial mines of critical minerals such as titanium and gallium, which while important aren’t likely to be worth the sums Trump envisages,” commented business news agency Bloomberg News.

BIGGER CHALLENGE

“Even if Ukraine does have any economically viable deposits, the West still has a bigger challenge to overcome. Most countries are forced to send the rare earths they mine to be refined in China as it dominates the processing of these materials,” Bloomberg News added.

However with enough support Ukraine could develop huge deposits of critical elements and minerals, from lithium to titanium, which are vital to manufacturing modern technologies and crucial in the global race for resources, according to a Worthy News assessment.

The deal could also help overcome tensions between Kyiv and Washington after Trump called Zelenskyy “a dictator” while the Ukrainian leader said his U.S. counterpart was living in a “Russian disinformation bubble.”

Trump says he wants to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia backed up by business deals while Europe would be more actively involved in providing guarantees.

Ukraine just observed the third anniversary of a war that is believed hi have killed and injured at least 1 million people since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.

(With additional reporting by the Worthy News Europe Bureau in Budapest.)

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