Ukraine secures improved terms in natural resources deal with US

Ukraine and the US have reached an agreement on the utilization of Ukraine’s natural resources. The Financial Times, citing Ukrainian officials, reported that Washington had abandoned the toughest conditions in the originally proposed agreement.

The US is no longer claiming the potential $500 billion in revenues from the exploitation of Ukraine’s underground resources.

Kyiv managed to obtain more favorable terms and presented the deal as an opportunity to strengthen and expand cooperation with the US, the FT‘s source said.

This is expected to contribute to the recovery of the Ukrainian economy after three years of war.

According to the final text of the agreement, dated 24 February and obtained by the Financial Times, the parties agreed to create a special fund.

Ukraine will transfer 50% of its future mining, oil and natural gas revenues to this fund. The fund’s resources will be invested in projects within the country, but its activities will not extend to existing state resources.

Therefore, it will not affect the work of Naftogaz and Ukrnafta, Ukraine’s largest oil and gas producers.

Despite the agreement, the deal does not include provisions on US security guarantees, which Kyiv had previously insisted on.

In addition, issues such as the US share in the fund and joint ownership of assets have not yet been resolved and require additional negotiations.

The final text of the agreement states that the US aims to support Ukraine’s economic development in the long term.

Kyiv, on the other hand, emphasizes that the agreement is of a “framework nature” and that the actual distribution of revenues will begin only after the fund is established.

According to FT sources, the agreement has been approved by Ukraine’s justice, economy and foreign ministers.

The agreement now needs to be ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to visit Washington in the coming weeks to sign the document together with US President Donald Trump.

“This will be an opportunity for the President (Zelenskyy) to have a general official meeting and determine the next steps,” the FT quoted a Ukrainian official as saying.

Zelenskyy included the funding deal in his “victory plan” presented in September last year. Donald Trump, on the other hand, said he expected access to Ukraine’s natural resources in exchange for US assistance.

During the talks, Washington offered Kyiv several deal options. One of the proposed options envisaged that the US would have full control over the fund created under the agreement.

However, Ukraine found this demand unacceptable and it was removed from the text of the final agreement.