Economics Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on Thursday announced on social media that Kyiv and Washington have signed a “memorandum of intent” to reach a final agreement on a long-discussed deal to share in the extraction of Ukraine’s strategic minerals and fossil fuels.
“We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine,” wrote Svyrydenko, who is both First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Economic Development and Trade.
President Volodymyr Zelensky had said on Wednesday that negotiators were making “good progress” with the United States in fraught talks over a minerals deal intended to secure desperately needed US support.
“The basic legal stuff is almost finalized, and then, if everything moves quickly and constructively, the agreement will bring [positive] economic results to both our countries,” Zelensky said in his nightly address.
While the exact language of the current draft agreement has not been released, previous editions reportedly included an even split of the revenues from extracted resources and joint management of that fund.
However, the deal has gone through several iterations even after the infamous altercation in February in the White House when Trump harangued Zelensky for alleged ingratitude. After Zelensky’s described frustration of being strong-armed to sign a deal on the spot, both sides have been very tight-lipped about details of the agreement ever since.
Once the document is finalized, constitutionally it will still require ratification by the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s legislature. The same as the US Constitution would require Senate approval for such an agreement after being signed by the US president.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told AFP that a signed deal is targeted for April 26.
“We hope that the Fund will become an effective tool for attracting investments in the reconstruction of our country, modernization of infrastructure, support for business, and the creation of new economic opportunities,” Svyrydenko said.
“There is a lot to do, but the current pace and significant progress give reason to expect that the document will be very beneficial for both countries,” she said.
While the agreement reportedly has no explicit security guarantee from the US, Trump administration officials claim boosting American business interests in Ukraine would help deter Russia from future aggression in the event of a ceasefire.