Kyiv standoff disrupts parliament over US minerals deal
In Kyiv, the parliamentary session was interrupted due to the speaker's podium being blocked. Members of parliament were debating a controversial agreement with the USA concerning Ukrainian minerals. The revised agreement is generating significant emotions.
What should you know?
- In Kyiv, during a parliamentary session, Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk chose to interrupt the session because members of parliament blocked the speaker's podium.
- Members of parliament were discussing a revised agreement with the USA, which pertains to the use of Ukrainian minerals, including oil and gas.
- Why is the agreement controversial? The new version of the agreement extends the range of natural resources available to the USA and gives them priority in investment decisions.
Why was the session in Kyiv interrupted?
During the parliamentary session in Kyiv, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, decided to halt proceedings. The reason was that members of parliament blocked the speaker's podium, preventing further discussions.
Members of parliament were debating a revised agreement with the USA concerning Ukrainian minerals.
What does the new agreement with the USA include?
The new version of the agreement, which is 58 pages long, was presented during recent talks with the Ukrainian delegation. The agreement extends the range of natural resources accessible to Americans, including oil and gas.
The USA would also have priority in decisions regarding new infrastructure investments and the power to prohibit the sale of resources to other countries.
A politician from the Ukrainian Voice party, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, stated that the session was interrupted during the presentation of the project's details. "In short: a speech was given in the Rada regarding the insult to parliament and the new mineral agreement. The meeting was subsequently interrupted. So, dear journalist friends, today or over the next two weeks, bill no. 11533 will not appear in the records at all" - he wrote on his Telegram channel.
What are the next steps regarding the agreement?
Zhelezniak suggested that the mineral agreement project with the USA is currently undergoing intense negotiations, and changes are anticipated.
"The American side immediately raised the stakes to a great extent" - he added. Changes to the project could only be made with the consent of the United States.
