Ukraine nears a deal to give US a share of its minerals wealth

Kyiv, Ukraine: Ukraine and the United States are closing in on an agreement that would grant Washington a share of Kyiv's revenues from natural resources, President Donald Trump and a Ukrainian government official said Monday, after an intense pressure campaign from the American president to strike a deal.

Trump said that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine may come to the White House this week or next week to sign the agreement. "The agreement's being worked on now. They're very close to a final deal," Trump said Monday at the White House.

Earlier in the day, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Olha Stefanishyna, posted on the social platform X that "Ukrainian and US teams are in the final stages of negotiations regarding the minerals agreement."

A version of the agreement being discussed Monday, which was reviewed by The New York Times, contained more favorable terms to Ukraine than previous drafts but did not include security guarantees Ukraine had been requesting as it struggles to fight Russia's invasion.

Four people, who have been briefed on the deal and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential negotiations, said those were the terms being discussed. Two of the people said the talks were still ongoing as of Monday evening. So the terms of the deal, which was not final, could still evolve.

The question of mineral wealth is tied up in conflicts over US military and financial aid to Ukraine, and over how to end the war. Zelenskyy has said Ukraine must have Western arms and backing in any peace deal, to prevent a future Russian assault, while Trump has insisted the war must end quickly, without offering such security guarantees.

"This economic agreement with Ukraine will not be a guarantee of future aid for war, nor will it include any commitment of US personnel in the region," a White House official said Monday.

The draft seen by the Times no longer included a US demand that Ukraine commit to giving the United States $500 billion in revenue generated from natural resources, including oil, gas and minerals.

The White House has described that request as compensation for past US military and financial aid, but Ukraine balked, saying it would create a huge financial burden for future generations.

Nor would Ukraine be required to repay twice the value of future American aid, one of the conditions in an earlier draft.

But the version obtained by the Times showed that the United States is not offering the security guarantees to deter further Russian aggression that Ukraine has been requesting.

The request for US-backed security guarantees has been a standing demand of Zelenskyy. The absence of any guarantee was one reason the Ukrainian leader refused to sign previous draft agreements.

Last week, Trump called Zelenskyy "a dictator" and appeared to falsely accuse Ukraine of starting the war, and on Monday his administration opposed a U.N. resolution, backed by most US allies, that called Russia the aggressor.

The document obtained by the Times, dated Feb. 24, lists Trump and Zelenskyy as required signatories.

Under the terms of the draft agreement, Ukraine would relinquish half of its revenues from the future monetization of natural resources. Those revenues would be directed to a fund in which the United States would hold the maximum percentage of financial interest allowed under US law, but not necessarily all of it.

Those provisions are an improvement for Ukraine. A previous draft agreement dated Saturday said that the US would have 100 per cent interest in the fund and that Ukraine would contribute to it with revenues from both current and future natural resource extraction projects.

The new draft agreement instead says the fund will reinvest revenues in Ukraine -- though it remains unclear what percentage -- and will be designed to attract further investment. It also says the United States will maintain long-term support for Ukraine's economic development.

The White House has argued the mere presence of American economic interests in Ukraine would deter future Russian aggression, even without specific assurances spelled out in the deal.

"What better could you have for Ukraine than to be in an economic partnership with the United States?" Mike Waltz, the US national security adviser, said Friday.