Ukraine set to sign major minerals deal with US amid ceasefire talks

Ukraine is set to sign a major rare earth minerals deal with the US, amid ongoing ceasefire talks as both sides push for faster negotiations and a potential ceasefire

Ukraine is preparing to finalise a key agreement on mineral resources with the United States in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, according to two senior Ukrainian officials, as reported by the Associated Press.   

 

Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s economy ministry, is in the US capital to oversee the final technical arrangements of the deal, sources told the AP. However, it was not immediately clear whether the Trump administration is ready to sign the agreement.  

 

US President Donald Trump has earlier said that gaining access to Ukraine’s rare earth elements is a pre-condition for further US support in the country’s war against Russia, now entering its fourth year.  

 

 

The Ukrainian cabinet is expected to greenlight the agreement’s text ahead of the meeting in Washington, after which an authorised official will sign it. The agreement will also need to be ratified by Ukraine’s parliament before coming into force.  

 

One of the officials said the deal includes several documents: a main agreement and at least two technical accords defining how the joint fund will be structured and run. The second official voiced optimism that there would be no last-minute revisions from the US side.  

 

Ukraine has recently added new clauses to the deal to address concerns that the initial American draft, presented in March, heavily favoured US interests. Talks between both sides have continued steadily since then.  

 

An unnamed industry insider familiar with the negotiations said that the latest version of the agreement now includes more specifics rather than just general promises.  

 

Meanwhile, a senior Kremlin figure said on Wednesday that reaching a peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war is a highly complex task. The US has been working to inject momentum into peace efforts but is reportedly frustrated with the slow pace. President Trump has also publicly posted on his Truth Social platform that the peace deal needs to be signed at the earliest.  

 

Putin seeks clarity before ceasefire  

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has supported calls for a ceasefire ahead of peace talks, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said certain issues still need to be addressed first. He has also said that Putin is open to direct talks with Ukraine without preconditions, he added.  

 

"We realise that Washington wants to achieve quick progress, but we hope for understanding that the Ukrainian crisis settlement is far too complex to be done quickly," Peskov said during his daily media briefing on Wednesday. "There are many details and an array of small nuances that need to be solved before a settlement."  

 

Trump has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, blaming him for prolonging the conflict. He also condemned Putin for escalating tensions with fresh strikes on Kyiv, which came at a sensitive moment in peace efforts.  

 

The US State Department also reiterated its call for faster progress from both parties.  

 

"We are now at a time where concrete proposals need to be delivered by the two parties on how to end this conflict," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce quoted Secretary of State Marco Rubio as saying.