Ukraine and USA poised to seal rare earth metals pact
Ukraine is ready to sign an agreement with the USA concerning rare earth metals and may do so as early as Wednesday, reports Bloomberg, citing a source familiar with the matter.
What do you need to know?
- When and where? Ukraine plans to sign the agreement with the USA on Wednesday, and Yulia Svyrydenko, the Ukrainian Minister of Economy, has travelled to Washington to sign the document.
- What does the agreement include? The project involves establishing a joint Ukrainian-American fund to manage investment projects, focusing on mining and energy.
- Why is this important? The agreement aims to strengthen the strategic partnership and contribute to Ukraine's recovery from the destruction caused by Russia's invasion.
What are the details of the agreement?
"The draft agreement, which envisages creating a joint fund to manage Ukraine’s investment projects, has been finalized and may be signed as soon as Wednesday," reveals an anonymous source to the agency, reports Bloomberg.
This fund will manage projects related to mining, energy, and related technologies.
Bloomberg also reports that negotiations have already been concluded.
The Ukrainian side will be represented at the signing of the document by Ukraine's Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, who is currently on her way to Washington.
- I think maybe late evening Kyiv time the deal there can be signed - says a source from the Ukrainian government, quoted by Reuters.
What about previous US demands?
Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that the US has dropped earlier demands to include billions of dollars of aid delivered to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's invasion in the agreement. Instead, only military aid after the signing of the agreement will be included in the fund as the US contribution. The agreement "strengthens the strategic partnership between the Parties for the long-term reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine, in response to the large-scale destruction caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion" - as stated in a document accessed by Bloomberg.
Are there any obstacles?
Although the agreement is close to finalization, two other technical agreements that will define how the joint fund operates have not yet been finalized. The US Treasury Department has not commented on this matter.
It is worth remembering that the previous attempt to reach an agreement failed due to a public dispute between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump.
