Ukrainian authorities said they had reached a "preliminary" agreement to transfer revenues from some of their mineral resources to the United States, ahead of President Volodymyr Zelensky's expected visit to Washington on Friday, Reuters reports.
The deal is crucial to Ukraine's efforts to secure strong support from US President Donald Trump, who is seeking a swift end to Russia's war in Ukraine, as US-Russian talks - in which Kiev has so far not participated - resume on Thursday.
"The main thing for me is that we are not debtors. There is no debt of $500 billion in the agreement, nor $350 billion, nor $100 billion, because that would be unfair," Zelensky said at a press conference, speaking about the agreement.
Trump presented the deal as a way to repay billions of dollars in aid Kiev received during the war. Zelensky sought security guarantees in exchange for mineral rights, but it is unclear whether those demands have been met.
"This agreement is part of our broader agreement with the United States. This agreement may be part of future security guarantees... an agreement is an agreement, but we need to understand the bigger picture," Zelensky said.
"This deal could be a huge success or it could go unnoticed. And a huge success depends on our conversation with President Trump."
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said that Washington would support Kiev's efforts to obtain security guarantees as part of the final agreement, but that the Americans had not made any concrete promises about security.
While talks on a mineral resources agreement were ongoing, Washington and Moscow began bilateral negotiations.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday's talks in Istanbul would focus on resolving bilateral disputes, which are part of a broader dialogue that both sides see as crucial to ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that Zelensky wants to come to Washington on Friday to sign a "very big deal."
Shmyhal said today that the Ukrainian government would approve the agreed text so that it could be signed. He described it as a "preliminary" agreement.
"After the Ukrainian president and the American president reach an agreement on security guarantees, and after they agree on how we will link this preliminary agreement to the United States' security guarantees for our country, in the presence of both presidents, a representative of the Ukrainian government will sign this preliminary agreement," he said.
A copy of the draft agreement, seen by Reuters and dated February 25, states: “The United States government supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain the security guarantees necessary to establish lasting peace.”
Shmygal explained in a televised address that Kiev would cede 50% of "all revenues generated from the future monetization of all relevant state natural resources and associated infrastructure."
Those revenues will be directed to a fund under joint control of the United States and Ukraine, he added, emphasizing that no decision on the management of the fund can be made without Kiev's consent.
"Already existing deposits, facilities, licenses and leases are not subject to discussion when forming this fund," he concluded.
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