The Council is preparing to ratify a "historic" agreement with the USA regarding minerals

The Council is preparing to ratify a "historic" agreement with the USA regarding minerals

This week, the Verkhovna Rada is set to ratify an agreement with the United States regarding minerals. Over the past two months, the concept of these agreements has changed significantly. Ukrainian negotiators managed to avoid a number of unfavorable conditions, balance the interests of both parties, and create a foundation for long-term investments in post-war economic recovery.

This was reported by diplomat Lana Zerkal, a member of the coordinating committee of the Ukraine Facility Platform.

According to her, at this stage, there are a large number of documents that define the legal framework of the partnership between Ukraine and the United States. Moreover, these documents are aimed at removing one of the key tensions in the relations between the leaders of both states.

In particular, according to the content of the agreement, American businesses will not receive any exclusive rights — conditions are equal for all investors. The Fund’s financing will be derived from new revenues: the U.S. will consider only new weaponry, not past aid packages, while Ukraine will include part of the income from new mineral extraction licenses. Half of the rental payments will be directed to the Fund.

This Fund will operate exclusively within Ukraine and will invest in the development of natural resources and the necessary infrastructure. It also has the right of first offer to invest in relevant projects. Partners will not be able to distribute profits earlier than ten years from now.

Some critics complain about the absence of "security guarantees," but this is not at all the subject of the agreements, says Zerkal. Regarding security, neither Poland nor the Baltic countries believe in paper commitments anymore. Actual security is provided not by wording but by weapons and resources for their production. The American DFC (Development Finance Corporation), which is a co-founder of the Fund, described the agreements on its website as a "historic document" and a clear signal to Russia that the United States has a strategic interest in Ukraine — and does not intend to stand by.

The extraction of resources is not a matter of one year. On average, it takes up to 18 years from the discovery of deposits to the full launch of a project. Just the launch of a mine alone costs at least half a billion dollars.

Zerkal emphasizes that the new agreements do not include Trump’s initial idea of "reimbursement" to the U.S. for aid.

 "Now, this is a real platform for further economic interaction that guarantees the strategic interest of the United States in a stable Ukrainian future. The key question in the coming days is whether the Verkhovna Rada can ratify these agreements despite political disputes and distrust towards the Cabinet. After all, Moscow is more interested than ever in disrupting this process," Zerkal concluded.