WASHINGTON DC – On Thursday, the United States hailed the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada’s approval of the economic partnership deal with the US as a sign of “true partnership.”
“We just concluded the rare earth deal with Ukraine. That’s been fully ratified and approved by their legislative branches, and so we appreciate that,” US President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The deal was signed last week in Washington and will see the two countries jointly develop Ukraine’s natural resources and minerals, while also opening up a path for further military support from the US.
State Department’s spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a daily briefing that the fact that the deal had received 338 votes out of 400 – well over the 226 needed – in Ukraine’s legislature, the Verkhovna Rada, was “demonstrating again that this agreement has been a fully collaborative partnership from start to finish.”
“This is more than policy,” she said. “It’s a partnership that strengthens America, secures long-term gains for both nations.”
When asked by Kyiv Post whether the deal would further secure Ukraine’s minerals-rich territories from future Russian attacks, Bruce said the agreement was “a separate dynamic” as it reflects the economic partnership between the US and Ukraine. “The brilliance of this [deal] is to provide the money coming up in the future to rebuild once this [war] is finished, and that’s what we’re looking at.”
In the meantime, she went on to add that it will also send a clear message “to the world and to all the players involved” that Ukraine has a partnership with the US: “It’s the one that will last for generations and will make a difference for every Ukrainian, and will strengthen the national security of that country. And that’s what good business partnerships do across the board,” she added.
As for the peace negotiations, Bruce said, a ceasefire was “key” before the sides could move forward with talks:
“You can’t discuss what the results are for peace when people are still getting slaughtered,” she told Kyiv Post’s correspondent, adding “It’s a very low bar” for a first step, and that ceasefire “has to happen.”
Ukraine, for its part, hopes that ratification of the minerals deal will usher in a new era of harmonious Washington-Kyiv relations – even if it does not come with a peace deal and security guarantees.