Washington [US], May 2: Kyiv and Washington on Thursday hailed a deal giving the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals as a milestone which a top U.S. official said would allow President Donald Trump to negotiate with Russia on a stronger basis.
The Kremlin was silent on Wednesday's agreement, but former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said it meant Trump had "broken the Kyiv regime" because Ukraine would have to pay for U.S. military aid with mineral resources.
The accord, which was signed in Washington and heavily promoted by Trump, establishes a joint investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction as the U.S. president tries to secure a peace settlement in Russia's war in Ukraine.
The agreement also gives the U.S. preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals projects. It is central to Ukraine's efforts to mend ties with the White House, which frayed after Trump took office in January, but is yet to be considered by the Ukrainian parliament.
The deal will show the "Russian leadership that there is no daylight between the Ukrainian people and the American people, between our goals," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business Network in an interview.
"And again, I think this is a strong signal to the Russian leadership, and it gives President Trump the ability to now negotiate with Russia on even a stronger basis," he said.
His remarks appeared to send a signal to Russia that Washington remains aligned with Kyiv despite question marks over its commitment to its ally since Trump's return to power upended U.S. diplomacy.
Senior Trump administration officials said three agreements had been signed - a framework deal and two technical accords - and that they expected Ukraine's parliament to approve them within a week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he hoped there would be no delays in securing parliament's approval, although some lawmakers said they expected it to take longer than a week.
"The agreement has changed significantly in the preparation process," Zelenskiy said in a video posted on Telegram, hailing what he called a "truly equal agreement" that created opportunities for investment in Ukraine and the modernisation of industry and legal practices in his country.
He and Bessent both underlined the important role in securing a deal that had been played by talks Zelenskiy and Trump held in Rome during Pope Francis' funeral on April 26.
"In fact, now we have the first result of the Vatican meeting, which makes it truly historic," Zelenskiy said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Syhiba said the deal marked "an important milestone" in U.S.-Ukrainian relations aimed at strengthening Ukraine's economy and security.
U.S. FRUSTRATIONS
Kyiv has been highly dependent on U.S. military supplies since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and says Moscow has intensified attacks on Ukraine since the U.S. stepped up efforts to secure a peace settlement.
Washington has been signalling its frustration with the failure of Moscow and Kyiv to agree on terms, and Trump has shown signs of disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin for not moving faster towards peace.
Medvedev, who is now a senior security official in Russia, suggested Ukraine had been forced into the agreement.
"Trump has broken the Kyiv regime to the point where they will have to pay for U.S. aid with mineral resources," he wrote on Telegram. "Now they (Ukrainians) will have to pay for military supplies with the national wealth of a disappearing country."
Ukraine's international debt rallied after the signing of the minerals deal, which financial analysts said had come with better terms for Ukraine than they had originally thought likely.
Ukraine is rich in natural resources including rare earth metals used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles and military applications, among others. Global rare-earth mining is dominated by China, which is locked in a trade war with the U.S. after Trump's sharp tariff increases.
Ukraine also has large reserves of iron, uranium and natural gas.
First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Ukraine has no debt obligations to the U.S. under the agreement, but the deal provided no concrete U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, one of Kyiv's initial goals.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met parliamentary factions at a closed meeting on Thursday to present the deal.
Some members of parliament complained they had not seen the text of the agreement or been properly consulted. One lawmaker, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, said it may take until mid-May for parliament to vote on the deal.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Cooperation